By By Cassie Chance/Special to The Star
Feb. 24, 2001
The 2001 Rush Fast-Pitch Softball Classic got under way Friday at Northeast Park. The event features eight junior colleges from six states. Action began shortly after the opening ceremonies at 9:15 a.m. with Motlow State (TN) taking on San Jacinto (TX) and Chipola (FL) facing off against Young Harris (GA).
San Jacinto 4, Motlow State 3: Motlow's three home runs helped early on, but San Jacinto scored runs off of four singles to take the win. Nicole McGrew, Nikki Shockley, and Dawn Fox had one homerun apiece for the Lady Bucs.
Krystal McDonald, Tammy Nelson, Diana Rychilk, and Lisa Plumee led San Jacinto.
Young Harris 3, Chipola 0: Young Harris got 1-for-3 performances from Tara Neff and Stephanie Yeats and another run by Melanie Misteller to shut out Chipola.
Okaloosa Walton (FL) 3, Central Alabama 1: Jaime Crawford's 2-for-3 outing at the plate and Megan Quarry's score on an error paced the Okaloosa Walton Lady Raiders to the win. Central Alabama's lone score came from Andrea Hatcher.
Meridian 4, Blinn (TX) 3: The Lady Eagles won their first game of the day thanks to a 2-for-4 performance by Ashleigh Hicks. Auriel Jenkins and Jackie Avant also scored for MCC. Two of Blinn's three runs came off Kelly's Majewski's 2-for-5 outing.
Young Harris 3, Okaloosa Walton 2: Afternoon action began with the Lady Lions from Young Harris talking a slim 3-2 win over Okaloosa Walton. Young Harris got runs from Tara Neff, Pamela Byrd, and Felicia Coursey, who all were 1-for-4. Okaloosa Walton's runs came from Jaime Crawford and Amy Hodges.
Meridian 4, San Janincto 3: The Lady Eagles kept their record perfect for the day by slipping past San Janicto. Shanna Blanks was 1-for-4, while Lakenya Wilson, Amy Adcox, and Robin Holland were 1-for-3. San Jacinto kept the game close thanks to 1-for-4 at bats by Krystal McDonald, Tammy Nelson, and Hodges.
Central Alabama 6, San Jacinto 2: Thanks to a 2-for-3 showing by Mindy Bowen, the Central Alabama Lady Trojans easily defeated San Jacinto. Tonya Brock, Amy Hawkins, and Andrea Hatcher all scored for the Lady Trojans. San Jacinto's pair of runs came from Whittney Hynes and Monica Parish.
Motlow State 4, Meridian 0: The Lady Eagles dropped their first decision of the tournament to Motlow State, who got three singles from Nikki Shockley, Amy Taylor, and Kellie Finney, Amanda Washer added a homerun.
Blinn 2, Oakloosa Walton 1: Blinn's winning scores came from a 2-for-4 outing at the plate by Katy Wardlow. Courtesy runner Nikki Sawyer scored the Lady Raiders' lone run off a hit by Alayna Cunningham.
Meridian 3, Chipola 0: The Lady Eagles rebounded from their earlier loss to shut out Chipola. Lakenya Wilson and Stephanie Dixon went 1-for-4 at the plate, while Robin Holland went 1-for-3.
The games originally scheduled for this morning at 8:30 a.m. were moved to Friday night due to the threat of rain. Two other games between Young Harris/ San Jacinto and Moltow State/ Oakloosa Walton were still in progress as of deadline time.
MCC athletic director Michelle Smith was proud of the tournament's first day.
out and support our Lady Eagles. They've worked hard to get where they are."
Meridian's day will begin at 12:40 p.m. when the Lady Eagles face Young Harris. Blinn will take on Motlow State at the same time. Chipola and San Jacinto are also scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. match up. The day's last two games are scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. with Blinn taking on Central Alabama and Meridian taking on Okaloosa Walton.
Admission is $4 for adults, children 15 and under are free, and students ages
16-18 are $1.