GAYLESVILLE – Gaylesville senior centerfielder Olivia Matthews has been tweaking with her batting stance at practice lately. She said assistant coach Steve Baker has taught her to narrow it down, along with keeping her elbow and the bat closer inside.

The adjustments have been working out pretty well for her.

Last week against Collinsville, Matthews blasted a two-run homer to open the Lady Trojan hit parade. On Tuesday against Cedar Bluff, Matthews came up big again.

Matthews got the Class 1A, No. 9 Lady Trojans going in the first inning with a three-run shot to center. She also had a two-run single and a walk in a 17-5 victory over the Lady Tigers in five innings, ending Cedar Bluff’s seven-game winning streak.

“Coach Baker has really been working with me, helping me get my stance right, and I think it’s because of him that I have been able to hit like this,” Matthews said.

Gaylesville coach Sandi Wheeling said she’s noticed how well Matthews has adjusted in recent games.

“Her batting average has been rising every week,” Wheeling said. “She’s been hitting a lot better now. That’s her second home run in the last couple of games. She’s hitting at the right time, and they’re all starting to peak at the right time.”

Before Matthews had a chance to show off her hitting on Tuesday, Cedar Bluff (12-10, 4-4 Area 12) jumped out to the early 1-0 lead. Pitcher Lindsey Lambert belted a RBI-double off Gaylesville’s Katlin Hammett that scored centerfielder Mechelle Adams. Adams led off the first with a walk.

It didn’t take long for the Lady Trojans (15-5, 6-2) to respond. A pair of walks to shortstop Krysta Nichols and rightfielder Amber Moseley with one out brought Matthews to the plate. She smoked a Lambert offering to the deepest part of the field for a three-run homer that put Gaylesville on top 3-1.

“On that pitch, we kind of grooved her a belt-high fastball and she turned on it,” Cedar Bluff coach Shane McFry said. “She put a pretty good charge into it.”

The Lady Tigers battled back in the third to regain the lead. Cedar Bluff batted around and scored four runs without the benefit of a hit. The Lady Tigers were aided by four consecutive walks and two hit batsmen in the inning, helping them grab a 5-3 advantage.

“Katlin was struggling there a little, but I just told her to go out there and throw strikes, make them hit the ball, and don’t give them free passes,” Wheeling said. “She started pitching better, and after that, they all started hitting better.”

As Wheeling said, Gaylesville started swinging the bats well in the bottom of the fourth. The Lady Trojans sent 19 batters to the plate against Lambert and scored 14 runs.

Matthews had a walk and a two-run single in the inning. Kim Couch belted a two-run triple down the rightfield line. Katie Lemons had a two-run single. Moseley added a run-scoring double. Courtney Wheeling and Stormy Deering both had run-scoring singles.

Matthews, Deering and Couch were all 2 for 3. Wheeling went 2 for 4.

Hammett claimed the win after working five innings. She gave up one hit with seven walks and eight strikeouts.

Lambert suffered the loss after working four innings. She gave up 12 hits with five walks and five strikeouts.

“We’ve had one bad inning just about every game where it seems like we kind of lose our composure,” McFry said. “Against other teams we’ve played, we’ve been able to hold it to decent minimum, but right there, we couldn’t stop their sticks once they got rolling. It was just too much to overcome.”

The two teams battle again on Thursday in Cedar Bluff at 4:30 p.m.