By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Aug. 17, 2003
PHILADELPHIA As area slow-pitch softball coaches know only too well, you don't have to go very far around here to get your oil checked and the Philadelphia Tournament this weekend was a prime example.
Neshoba Central's Class 4A Lady Rockets, ranked third in the state by The Clarion-Ledger, won Pool A with a 3-0 record but were severely tested by a pair of Class 1A schools.
Neshoba Central rallied from a 6-4 deficit with two runs in the bottom of the sixth and one in the seventh to nip Nanih Waiya 7-6 Friday night. After an 18-1 thrashing of Choctaw Central Saturday morning, the Lady Rockets needed a two-out, two-run homer from Lindsey Smith in the bottom of the eighth to beat Union 9-7 Saturday afternoon.
The championship contest between the Lady Rockets and Pool B champion Louisville was canceled after a heavy downpour left Burnside Park's fields standing in water.
In beating Union, the Lady Rockets (7-0) had to score three times in the bottom of the seventh to force an extra inning.
Smith belted her fourth homer of the season down the left-field line to keep Neshoba Central undefeated. The homer also scored Jessi Nowell, who had reached on an infield error.
The Lady Rockets host No. 5 West Lauderdale Tuesday night.
Union, a 20-2 loser at Neshoba Central on Thursday, went up 5-3 in the top of the fourth Saturday on a two-run single by Lindsay Walker. Morgan Milling's sacrifice fly made it 6-3.
Trailing 7-4 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Rockets got to within 7-6 on a two-run single down the first-base line by Sarah Williamson. Kady Chandler's RBI single tied the game at 7-7.
Smith had a single, a double, and a homer for Neshoba Central. Williamson had four singles. Samantha Giambrone had a double and a pair of singles. Nowell and Chandler both had two hits.
Union (3-4) got two hits each from Milling, Lauren White, Amechia Hickmon, Chasity Yates, and Walker.
In their 7-6 win over Nanih Waiya, the Lady Rockets got an RBI double from Allison McDaniels in the bottom of the seventh for the win.
Chandler had two singles and a double, with McDaniels and Giambrone both getting a single and a double. Laura Smith, Lindsey Smith, and Williamson each had two hits.
Amber Eaves had three singles for Nanih Waiya.
In the 18-1 rout of Choctaw Central, Lindsey Smith had two singles, a double, and a triple. Nowell and Leah Dennis both had three singles. Giambrone had a single and a triple. Williamson and Whitney White both had a pair of doubles. McDaniels had a single and a double. Laura Smith and Chandler both had two singles.
Ashton Thompson had two singles for Choctaw Central.
In their 11-1 win over Choctaw Central, the Union girls took control early with a seven-run third frame.
White and Madison Brantley both had three RBIs. White had three singles and a double, while Brantley had three singles.
Morgan Breland had two singles and a double. Loren Kennedy and Deann Cleveland both had two singles and Tiffany Thomas had a single and a double.
In beating Nanih Waiya 11-7, Union got a single and a double from Kennedy, two singles from Milling and White, two singles and a triple from Thomas, three singles from Brantley, and four singles from Yates.