The GPS softball team is capable of hitting that bright yellow ball a long way, but they took it to another level on Friday at home against Pope John Paul II.
The Bruisers only had eight hits for the game, but five of them cleared the fence as they overcame an early 1-0 deficit to beat the Knights by an 8-3 final, pinning the first region loss on the Hendersonville squad after they had won seven straight.
GPS improves to 19-10 overall and 2-0 in region play while the Knights are now 18-13-1 overall and 7-1 in games that count.
Hannah Kincer was the winning pitcher for the Bruisers as she allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out eight and walking four.
She had one of the home runs and it came in a five-run third inning where the Bruisers took charge after breaking away from a 1-1 tie.
"They were a little late getting here, so it took us a while to get refocused, but overall I felt like we played pretty well," said GPS coach Susan Crownover shortly after game ended.
"We got some big hits and these kids can hit it long. Today we got five big ones (home runs) and they all came at big times. Those guys had beaten us during the regular season the last two years, so it was nice to beat them today.
"Hannah Kincer struggled a little bit, but she was able to grind it out. She certainly didn't have her best stuff as she was struggling to throw strikes, but she found a way to get the job done," Crownover added.
The Knights scored first in their first at-bat and they did so without the benefit of a hit.
Caitlyn Brinkley and Alley McDonald both walked with one out and advanced when Savannah Lewis reached on a Bruiser infield error.
Then on a play that nobody completely understood, McDonald strayed a little bit off second and drew a throw that bounced away from the GPS defender. Brinkley alertly raced home with the first run.
That lead didn't last long as GPS catcher Haley Smith smacked a two-out homer to left to tie the score.
The Bruisers then took control with five runs in the third on five hits.
Elizabeth Warwick led off with a sharp single to left and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lilly Berger. She then went to third on a wild pitch and scored easily on a double to left-center by Kaitlyn Songer.
Smith then ripped the next pitch deep to left for her second homer of the game while Kincer connected two pitches later on a solo shot that cleared the scoreboard in dead center.
The Knights then got the second out on a grounder to short, but the Bruisers weren't finished with their home run derby as Hannah Sanders hit a lazy fly to right that just kept carrying and dropped just past the fence for a 5-1 lead.
Pope John Paul, which left at least one runner stranded in all seven innings and nine for the game, finally scored again in the sixth.
Another GPS miscue allowed Olivia Nivison to score the first while a single by Alexis Williams drove in losing pitcher Anna Wantz with the second.
Again, it didn't take long for the Bruisers to respond.
Sydney White singled on the first pitch and was on board when Sanders ripped her second homer of the game to right-center. Wantz then got the next three Bruisers in order to end that threat.
The Knights got a one-out single by Lewis in the seventh, but Kincer was more than up to the challenge as she caught a pop from Amanda Kuban for the second out before striking out Olivia Nivison to end the game.
Pope John Paul coach Jody Brothers hit the nail on the head twice when asked about his team's performance.
"We left too many runners on base and the home run balls killed us," he said before addressing his team following the game.
"I don't think we've given up five home runs all season, much less in one game, but other than that one inning, I thought we played pretty well.
"GPS is a good hitting team, but it's a clinic when we come to Chattanooga to face teams like GPS and Baylor. It just shows us what we need to be doing to be a better team," Brothers concluded.
GPS finished with eight hits while Pope John Paul had seven.
The Knights will play at Baylor on Saturday morning while GPS has two games on Saturday against region foes Father Ryan and Harpeth Hall with the first pitch scheduled for 10 a.m.
POPE JOHN PAUL II 100 002 0 -- 3 7 1
GPS 105 002 x -- 8 8 3
Wantz and Lewis; Kincer and Smith.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)