By By Richard Dark/The Meridian Star
April 13, 2001
The Kosciusko Lady Whippets came out and used strong pitching and even stronger defense to put an end to any thoughts the Northeast Lauderdale Lady Trojans had of making the 2001 Class 4A fast-pitch playoffs with an 8-1 victory over the Lady Trojans at Northeast Park.
Lady Whippet freshman hurler Kristen Laurence handcuffed the host Lady Trojans with a nine strikeout effort over seven innings of work.
The hard-throwing Laurence allowed only one hit.
After allowing a single to Jana Olzack before walking three straight batters to score the Lady Trojans' (3-4 in Division 5-4A) only run in Raleigh Odom, Laurence settled down getting NEL to hit into groundouts and go down swinging.
Leading 4-1 in the top of the sixth, the Lady Whippets (16-5, 5-1) erased any doubts by scoring on walks, errors and passed balls to balloon the lead to 8-1.
Meanwhile, the Lady Trojans could get nothing in the form of a rally started, as Laurence fanned three batters in the fifth and sixth frames. Kosy catcher Kristen Ables, who earlier doubled, scored from third on a successful double steal in the top of the seventh for the final margin.
The Northeast loss opens the door for the Neshoba Central Lady Rockets, who split their season series with the Lady Trojans.
The Lady Rockets will hit the road to face off against defending Class 4A champion Terry in a three-game set Tuesday with the first game slated for 11 a.m.
Richard Dark is a sports writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at rdark@themeridianstar.com.