By By Marty Stamper/The Meridian Star
June 17, 2001
Biloxi was the last unbeaten team in the 16-under division of the State Games of Mississippi slow-pitch softball tournament Saturday night at Northeast Park.
Battling in the third-place game at press deadline were North Meridian Optimist and Express. Late games will be in Monday's edition of The Meridian Star.
NMO 8, Kossuth 5: North Meridian scored six runs in the third inning in taking the opening-round win over Kossuth.
Erin Murphy and Lindsey Raines had three singles apiece for NMO. Ashley Brown had a single and a double. Summer Ritchie had two singles. Celia Covington added a double.
Ashley Jones had two singles and a double for Kossuth. Mary Deaton had three singles. Jenna Dixon had a single and a double. Bethany Shepard had a pair of singles.
Express13, Tornadoes 10: Express, composed of players from several local schools, scored nine runs in the eighth inning and held Tornadoes to six in the bottom of the eighth for the win.
Betsy Clark had two singles and a double for Express. Katie Bergin had two doubles and a single. Krystal Burton and Courtney Godwin had three singles apiece. Amber Joyner and Sherry Randall both had two singles, while Amy Frazier added a double.
NMO 10, Express 7: North Meridian got four runs in the first inning and added four more in the second in beating Express.
NMO got two hits apiece from Erin Murphy, J.J. Huggins, and Ashley Brown.
Sarah Williamson had three hits to lead Express. Amber Joyner and Betsy Clark had two hits apiece.
Express 11, Complete Computers 4: Express racked up six runs in the fourth inning to send Complete Computers packing.
Amy Frazier had two singles and two triples to lead Express. Krystal Burton added a pair of singles.
Biloxi 14, NMO 3: Biloxi dropped North Meridian into the losers' bracket with the five-inning loss.
Lindsey Raines led NMO with two singles.
Christia Gibson had four hits including a double and a triple to lead Biloxi. Brittany Allen and Brandi Williams had two hits apiece.
Express 14, Columbus Raiders 13: Amber Joyner's sacrifice fly tied the elimination game in the bottom of the seventh and a single by Amy Frazier drove in Katie Bergin with the winning run.
Joyner, Frazier, Betsy Clark, Krystal Burton, Kristina Gardner, Sarah Williamson, Bergin, and Sherry Randall each had two hits for Express.
Brittany Robbins, Kelly Yates, Tammy Parish, Wendy Fleming, Jenna Hare, and Anna Williamson each had two hits for Raiders.
In other games, Columbus Raiders belted Saltillo Outlaws 15-4, Biloxi nipped Complete Computers 5-4, Complete Computers eliminated Saltillo Outlaws 9-6, Kossuth sent Tornadoes packing 12-1, Biloxi dropped Columbus Raiders into the losers' bracket with a 12-0 beating, and Columbus Raiders eliminated Kossuth in a 13-12 thriller.
Marty Stamper is a sports writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at mstamper@themeridianstar.com.