By By Marty Stamper/The Meridian Star
Oct. 9, 2001
The West Lauderdale Lady Knights tuned up for next week's Class 3A state slow-pitch softball playoffs with a 21-7 Division 5-3A win over Carthage Monday night at Collinsville.
All eight Lady Knights that batted four times had at least two hits. The two West players that only batted three times had one hit each. West finished the night with 22 hits.
The Lady Knights led 6-0 after one inning. J.J. Huggins took Jodie Rawson's first pitch over the wall in center field for the first of her two over-the-fence home runs. Two batters later, Amy Frazier had a two-run inside-the-park homer.
Courtney Godwin made it 6-0 when her line drive to right field was played into a four-base error that scored three runs.
Carthage shocked West for seven runs in the top of the second to take a brief 7-6 lead. Baseball fans familiar with Boatnerball' thought they were witnessing an early spring as four of Carthage's seven hits in the inning never left the infield. Heidi Shannon led the Lady Tigers in the frame with a single and a double.
West came back with a six-run bottom half of the second. Huggins again led off with a solo homer. She would receive two intentional walks in her other at-bats. Hayley Scarborough and Frazier followed with back-to-back triples with Jo Havard reaching on a three-base error to right field. Jessica Ethridge added an RBI-single in the inning with Godwin chipping in with a two-run single that never left the infield.
The Lady Knights tacked on nine runs in the bottom of the fourth. Amber Joyner had a pair of singles in the inning en route to a team-best 4-for-4 night.
Seventh-ranked West returns to action Thursday at Philadelphia at 7 p.m. The Lady Knights improved to 29-4 overall and 10-1 in 5-3A.
Ethridge (29-4) was the winning pitcher.
Scarborough and Frazier both had three hits for West. Huggins, Havard, Ethridge, Kristina Gardner, and Godwin each had two hits.
Carthage visits Choctaw Central Thursday in another 7 p.m. 5-3A game. The Lady Tigers dropped to 3-8 in the division.
Marty Stamper is a sports writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at mstamper@themeridianstar.com or call him at 693-1551, ext. 3234.