By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Oct. 10, 2002
NANIH WAIYA – The Union Lady Jackets captured their fourth consecutive division slow-pitch softball championship Wednesday afternoon with a convincing 17-1 win over Nanih Waiya.
Union improved to 23-5 overall and 10-0 in Division 6-1A. The Lady Jackets are 26-0 in division games for the last three years and 33-1 over the last four seasons.
The Lady Jackets had 22 hits against Nanih Waiya with each of the starters having at least two hits except one.
Union played errorless against the Lady Warriors, who committed eight miscues.
Union will host Bogue Chitto in the first round of the Class 1A state playoffs on Tuesday.
Union wasted no time in jumping on Nanih Waiya as the Lady Jackets got five runs on five hits in the top of the first inning. Morgan Milling, Marley Smith, and Lauren White had back-to-back-to-back doubles.
The Lady Jackets added three runs in the second with Tiffany Thomas leaving the new park with a two-run homer.
The lead grew to 12-0 with four more runs in the top of the third. Milling, Smith, Thomas, and Madison Brantley each had RBI-singles.
Union got five runs on six hits in the fourth with Milling, White, and LaSaundra Harrison collecting RBI-singles to go with two Nanih Waiya errors.
Milling finished 4-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs. Smith and Brantley were both 3-for-4, while Loren Kennedy, White, Thomas, Harrison, Amechia Hickmon, and Morgan Breland each had two hits.
Brantley (14-3) got the win, allowing only two hits, a first inning single by Christy Hickman and a long fourth inning solo homer by Courtnee Graham.
Heather Steele took the loss. The Lady Warriors dropped to 6-2 in the division with a game scheduled with Sebastopol today and a makeup contest with a Noxapater. If the Lady Warriors win either game, they will travel to West Lincoln in the first round of the 1A state playoffs on Tuesday as the 6-1A runner-up. Both of their league losses have been to Union.