By By Marty Stamper/EMG sports assistant
April 4, 2004
Twelve teams combined to play 19 games in the Meridian Fast-Pitch Festival Saturday afternoon at Northeast Park.
The day's big winner was Oak Grove as the top-ranked Lady Warriors went 3-0 to maintain their lofty perch.
Also going 3-0 were the Northeast Lauderdale Lady Trojans and the West Lauderdale Lady Knights.
Among the state's top teams competing were No. 1 Oak Grove, No. 3 New Hope, No. 4 Neshoba Central, No. 8 Harrison Central, and No. 13 Petal. Petal was the day's big loser, going 0-3.
Meridian
The Lady Wildcats split their two games, beating Richton 6-5 and losing 6-2 to Moss Point. The split moved Meridian's record to 14-9.
Meridian had seven hits against Richton with Artesian Boyd, Carsheena Blanks, and Meagan Patton each getting two singles. Courtney Carter had one single. Brandi Limerick (14-7) got the win.
Against Moss Point, the Lady Tigers got three runs in the first inning and three more in the fourth.
Lindsay Lang led Meridian with a single and a triple. Lanie Simcox had two singles, while Ebonee Ball, Boyd, Tiffany Hickman, and Patton each had one single.
Southeast Lauderdale
The Lady Tigers had a 1-2 showing. They opened with a 4-0 win over Richton before losing 5-4 to Enterprise and 2-1 to New Hope to fall to 9-13.
In blanking Richton, Lindsey Raines got the win, tossing a one-hitter. Southeast got one run in the fourth inning and added three more in the bottom of the fifth. Abby Havard had two singles for the Lady Tigers, while Raines had a double.
In the loss to Enterprise, Havard, Jessica Rose, Heather Ward, Megan McMullan, and Mallarie Bowen each had one single for Southeast.
In the one-run loss to New Hope, Heather Ward broke up Rachel Baucom's no-hit bid with a single to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Ward scored on a single by Havard. Courtney Gordon had two singles and a double for New Hope.
Northeast Lauderdale
The Lady Trojans defeated Enterprise 4-2, Moss Point 13-11, and Wayne County 12-0 to up their record to 14-12 after going 0-17 a year ago.
In beating Enterprise, the Lady Trojans got a three-run homer from Jennifer Bristow in the top of the third. Jana Olczak and Capri Norris both reached on errors preceding Bristow's two-out shot over the center field fence. Northeast's only other hit was a single by Norris. Bristow was the winning pitcher, tossing a one-hitter.
In knocking off Moss Point, the Lady Trojans rallied from an 11-1 deficit through two innings. Moss Point scored 10 runs in the first only to have Northeast put 10 on the board in the top of the third.
Amber Gray had a single and a grand slam for Northeast. Olczak had three singles, Kara Hull had a triple, Savannah Hall had two singles, and Bristow and Shelley Odom both had a single. Bristow got the win.
Northeast had only six hits in drubbing Wayne County. Norris had two singles with Hall getting a double. Gray, Olczak, and Meagan Winborn each had a single. Odom (1-0) got the win in her first varsity start of the season.
Neshoba Central
The Lady Rockets went 2-1 as they sandwiched a 3-1 loss to Harrison Central around a 2-1 win over Petal and a 13-0 rout of Richton. Neshoba upped its record to 17-5.
Kady Chandler (9-2) got the win against Petal. Sondria Hillie had an inside-the-park homer and Whitnee White had a triple. Jessi Nowell, Sarah Williamson, and Samantha Giambrone each had a single. The Lady Rockets got both their runs in the second.
In the loss to Harrison, the Lady Rockets got two singles from Leah Dennis and one single from White.
In the blowout of Richton, the Rockets scored three runs in the first inning and racked up nine more in the second. Nowell had three singles and Hillie had two. Chandler added a single and a double with Lindsey Smith and Allison McDaniel each getting one single. Smith (10-2) was the winning pitcher.
West Lauderdale
The Lady Knights opened with a 10-2 win over Enterprise and followed that with a 5-2 victory over Wayne County and an 11-9 win over Petal to improve to 10-8.
In beating Enterprise, Hayley Campbell went 4-for-4 with three RBIs. Holly Herrington and Morgan Gullette both went 3-for-4. Brooke Lee got the win, striking out five.
Against Wayne County, Katy Nabors got the win. Ashley Helms went 2-for-3. The Lady Knights had six hits and received 11 walks.
Against Petal, Lee again got the win, striking out five in five innings. Lee went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Sommer Jones was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Herrington had a pair of RBIs.
Enterprise
The Lady Bulldogs went 1-2, losing 10-2 to West Lauderdale, beating Southeast Lauderdale 5-4, and losing 4-2 to Northeast Lauderdale.
In the win over Southeast, Amanda Parker got the win. The Lady Bulldogs got three runs in the top of the third without the benefit of a hit. Enterprise's only hit in the game was a single by Leslie Speed.
In the loss to Northeast, Shannon Creel's single was the Lady Bulldogs' only hit.
Wayne County
The Lady War Eagles went 0-3.
Wayne lost its opener 5-1 to West Lauderdale, then fell 14-0 to Moss Point and 12-0 to Northeast Lauderdale.
In other games, Oak Grove edged Petal 4-3 and New Hope 3-1 before taking a 6-2 win over Harrison Central. New Hope snapped a 2-2 tie with Harrison Central in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run homer from Courtney Gordon to win 4-2.