By By Marty Stamper/EMG sports assistant
April 14, 2002
DECATUR – History repeated itself Saturday afternoon as the Newton County Lady Cougars took a two-game sweep from Morton in the opening round of the Class 3A state fast-pitch softball playoffs.
The Lady Cougars won handily, taking wins by 15-1 and 14-2 margins with both games lasting just 3 1/2 innings apiece.
Newton County had ripped Morton 16-1 and 20-2 on April 1 and nothing changed in the rematch.
In the 15-1 victory in Saturday's opener, Joy Cavenaugh (10-1) struck out seven and allowed one hit and two walks in three innings. Lauren Barrett tossed the final frame, allowing only one hit.
In the second contest, Krissi Harris (7-3) and Suzanne Chaney combined on a no-hitter. Harris gave up five walks and both Morton runs in three innings with Chaney striking out all three batters she faced in the fourth.
Newton County had 18 hits in the two games. The Lady Cougars received 11 walks from Rachel Jenkins in the opener and six more walks along with two hit batsmen in the second game. Jenkins took the loss in both games, dropping to 1-7.
Cavenaugh had a single and a triple in the opener with Kristin Chaney, Harris, Dominique Mapp, Betsy Clark, Suzanne Chaney, and Holly Jackson each having a single.
Morton's only hits were a triple by Jessica White and a single by Shatoria Patrick.
In the second game, Mapp and Suzanne Chaney both had two singles as Newton County upped its record to 30-5. Jackson, Kristin Chaney, Harris, Clark, Jessica Sheehan, and Shelly Ferguson each had a single.
The Lady Cougars will play at the Collins-West Marion winner in a single game on Thursday before hosting the remainder of that second-round series Saturday. West Marion won Saturday's opener 11-3 with Collins taking the second game 9-4. A third game is set for Tuesday.