PREP ROUNDUP: Mixed results for area teams

By By Marty Stamper / staff writer
Oct. 17, 2004
Area teams had mixed results in slow-pitch softball playoff action Saturday. Newton County swept Greene County in Class 3A, while Enterprise, Meridian, and Neshoba Central each had their seasons come to an end.
Enterprise dropped a pair of run-rule games to St. Andrew's. Meridian took Moss Point three games before falling 6-0 in the third game. Neshoba Central also took four-time defending Class 4A state champion New Hope three games before losing 11-6 in the rubber game.
Newton Co. 13-1
Greene Co. 2-0
Newton County completed its Class 3A sweep at Leakesville with a 1-0 win in 10 innings in the second game.
Newton County improved to 22-12 and will host West Lauderdale (28-4) for the Class 3A South State championship on Tuesday at Decatur at 5 p.m.
The Lady Cougars cruised to a 13-2 win in the opener as Greene County committed nine errors to go with 11 Newton County hits. Joni Seale had a double and three RBIs, while Bettina McDougle and Lindsey Stevens both had a pair of singles.
In the second game, Newton County had eight hits to nine for Greene County.
In the 10th, Lorna Blackburn drew a leadoff walk. After a single by McDougle, pinch runner Chelsey Vincent scored the game's only run on a single by Smith.
Chassidy Smith had a pair of singles for NCHS.
Moss Point 13-10-6
Meridian 4-11-0
Meridian High School's slow-pitch softball season came to a close Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Wildcats dropped two out of three games to the Moss Point Lady Tigers in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.
Meridian High won the second game of the best-of-three series 11-10, but the Lady Wildcats lost the first game 13-4 and the third game 6-0.
Lainie Simcox drove in the winnings runs of the second game with a two-out, two-RBI double. She finished the second game with three hits.
J'Quandra Hickman notched three doubles in Game 2 for Meridian High, and Tiffany Hickman tallied a pair of singles. Carsheena Blanks added a triple to the Lady Wildcats' offensive efforts in the second game.
In the first game, Courtney Trotter notched a single and double for Meridian High, and Simcox and Sarah Beckman each had two hits.
The Lady Wildcats tallied three hits as a team in the third game of the series. Meridian High, which won the District 5-5A regular-season title, finished the season with a 19-11 record.
St. Andrew's 15-14
Enterprise 5-3
In Class 2A at Ridgeland, Enterprise had its season end with a pair of five-inning losses to St. Andrew's.
Enterprise finished 14-17, while St. Andrew's (32-2) advances to a 2A South State championship series Tuesday at Philadelphia.
In the opener, Enterprise had only three hits and committed nine errors. Losing pitcher Summer Robinson had a single and a double for the Lady Bulldogs and Baleigh Volking had a double.
St. Andrew's had 11 hits and committed four errors.
In the second game, St. Andrew's struck for 13 runs in the first inning to complete the sweep.
Enterprise had four hits with Bayleigh Creel getting a triple, Shannon Creel a double, and Kristin Gavin a pair of singles.
New Hope 9-6-11
Neshoba Central 10-3-6
The Lady Rockets took the Lady Trojans three games before falling at New Hope.
Neshoba Central finished 24-8, while New Hope improved to 31-4.
In the opener, Neshoba Central put up five runs in the first inning and added four more in the third. Sondria Hillie and Kady Chandler both had two singles for the Lady Rockets. Samantha Giambrone had a home run and Hettie Brewer added a double.
New Hope stranded 16 baserunners. Rachel Baucom had three singles and a double, Linsey Upton had two singles and a double, Courtney Gordon had a double and a homer, while Reagan Aultman, Nikki Brown, and Keighly Harvey each had a pair of singles.
The Lady Trojans took a 6-3 win in the second game to even the series. A four-run fourth frame provided the winning margin. Laura Smith had a single and a homer for Neshoba, while Whitnee White and Leigh Ann Taylor both had a single and a double. Hillie had a double.
New Hope got three singles from Upton, two singles each from Brown and Lacie Fair, and a double from Aultman.
In the third game, New Hope padded a 3-1 lead with five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Neshoba scored four times in the top of the sixth to close to within 8-5.
White had two doubles and a single for the Lady Rockets. Jessi Nowell had a single and a double. Brewer and Leah Dennis both had two singles, while Smith had a homer and Hillie added a triple.
New Hope will face Amory for the North 4A state championship on Tuesday.