By Staff
NICE CATCH Warren Central High School's Kristin Ashley makes a grab during the second inning Saturday afternoon against West Lauderdale. PHOTO BY KYLE CARTER / THE MERIDIAN STAR
By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Sept. 28, 2003
When the 15th-annual Rush/Meridian Community College Softball Tournament wrapped up Saturday night, the day's big winners were second-ranked New Hope, which went 4-0; 10th-ranked West Lauderdale, which won all four of its games; Petal, which also went 4-0; and Newton County, which finished 3-0.
The day's big loser was Moss Point. The Lady Tigers entered the day ranked No. 1 in the state only to go home with an 0-3 showing with losses to No. 9 Tupelo, New Hope, and No. 3 Neshoba Central.
Neshoba Central
The third-ranked Lady Rockets went 3-1. In a 9-6 loss to West Lauderdale to begin their day, Samantha Giambrone, Sondreia Hillie, and Leah Dennis each had two singles.
In a 4-1 win over Poplarville, Lindsey Smith had two doubles and a triple, while Dacie Brantley had a pair of singles.
The Lady Rockets made Moss Point their next victim, knocking off the top-ranked Lady Tigers 8-7 with Giambrone hitting a double and a triple and Hettie Brewer collecting three singles. Laura Smith had a triple, while Dennis and Dacie Brantley both had a double. Amber Dean had two singles.
The Lady Rockets routed Tupelo 16-2 in their finale. Laura Smith and Allison McDaniel both had two doubles and a single. Dennis had a single and a double, while Sarah Williamson, Kady Chandler, Giambrone, Dean, and Hillie each had a pair of singles.
West Lauderdale
The 10th-ranked Lady Knights went 4-0. In a 9-6 win over Neshoba Central, Katie Moulds had three doubles and a single, Morgan Gullette had a double and two singles, Kayla Eubanks had three singles, Sommer Jones had two singles, and Kristi Lantz added a triple.
The Lady Knights posted a 10-3 victory over Columbus with Eubanks getting a single and a triple and Brook Bounds adding a pair of singles. Moulds and Josie Matthews both had a triple.
West knocked off Warren Central 13-1 with Jones and Bounds both hitting three singles. Eubanks had a double to go with a pair of singles. Kirby Rutledge had a single and a triple, Lantz had a single and a double, and Leah Hailey had a double.
The Lady Knights closed with a 13-2 win over Greene County. Eubanks had a three-run homer. Holly Herrington had three singles, Jones had a single and a triple, and Kirby Rutledge had a two-run triple. Ashley Helms had a pair of singles and Hailey had a triple.
Newton County
The Lady Cougars had a 3-0 showing. They opened with a 9-2 victory over Poplarville. Joy Cavenaugh had a double and a pair of singles. Megan Munn had three singles, Lorna Blackburn had a single and a double, and Jennifer Smith had a double.
Newton County run-ruled George County 11-1 with Jennifer Smith hitting two singles and a home run and Cavenaugh adding three singles. Meloni Johnson had a single and a double with Chassidy Smith, Munn, Lindsey Little, Blackburn, and Joni Seale each hitting a pair of singles.
The Lady Cougars closed out with an 11-8 win over Tupelo with Cavenaugh and Jennifer Smith both scoring two runs for Newton County.
Meridian
The Lady Wildcats turned in a 1-3 effort.
Meridian opened with a 15-14 win over Greene County. Artesian Boyd had two singles and a triple, J'Quandra Hickman had a single, a double, and a triple, and Carsheena Blanks had a single and two doubles. Tiffany Hickman and Amber Felton both had two singles.
The Lady Wildcats lost 6-5 to Harrison Central. Brandi Limerick had a pair of singles with J'Quandra Hickman adding a triple.
Meridian lost 7-3 to Petal with Tiffany Hickman getting three singles, Limerick adding two singles, and Felton and Brittany Simmons both getting a double.
The Lady Wildcats closed with a 14-4 loss to Warren Central.
Union
The Lady Jackets went 2-2. In an 11-7 win over Enterprise, Madison Brantley had three singles, Morgan Milling had a single and a triple, Beth Crotwell had a single and a double, Chasity Yates had two singles, Lindsay Walker had a home run, and Lauren White added a triple.
The Lady Jackets beat Greene County 8-7 with Brantley and Paige Holsen both hitting two singles. White had a triple and four RBIs.
Union lost 7-3 to Petal. White had a single and a double for the Lady Jackets.
The Lady Jackets closed with a 21-14 loss to Natchez. White had three singles and a double with Tiffany Thomas adding three singles. Milling had a double.
Southeast Lauderdale
The Lady Tigers turned in a 2-2 showing. In a 5-0 loss to Northeast Lauderdale, Lindsey Graham had a triple.
In a 9-3 loss to Harrison Central, Graham and Jessica Rose each had three singles with Heather Harper and Tamra Harrison both getting two singles. In beating Columbus 7-3, the Lady Tigers got three singles from Lindsay Raines.
The Lady Tigers wrapped up their day with a 13-6 win over George County. Graham, Raines, Harper, and Harrison each scored twice for Southeast.
Northeast Lauderdale
The Lady Trojans finished 3-1. Northeast opened with a 5-0 win over Southeast Lauderdale as Jana Olczak and Jayme Gardner both had a single and a double. Jennifer Bristow had two singles with Savannah Hall adding a triple.
In a 7-6 loss to Petal, Amber Gray had a single, a double, and a triple, while Bristow added three singles. Hall had a double.
The Lady Trojans defeated Warren Central 15-9 with Bristow getting two singles and a double, Hall getting a single and a triple, and Gardner and Olczak both adding a pair of singles.
In a 13-6 win over Harrison Central, Gardner, Hall, and Gray each had a single and a triple. Bristow, Olczak, and Capri Norris each had a pair of singles.
Enterprise
The Lady Bulldogs turned in a 3-1 mark. In an 11-7 loss to Union, Kaccy Jimmerson had three doubles, Heather Todd had three singles, Amanda Parker had a single and a double, and Shannon Creel and Baleigh Volking both had two singles. In an 11-3 rout of Natchez, Parker and Laura Speed had two singles apiece, while Jimmerson and Morgan Swancey both had a double.
Enterprise nipped Greene County 8-6 with Jimmerson getting a single and a triple, Parker a single and a double, and Todd a pair of singles.
The Lady Bulldogs won another thriller to end their day as they nipped Poplarville 14-13. Parker had two singles and a double with Swancey hitting three singles. Jimmerson had a single and a double and Creel and Magan Robinson had two singles apiece.