By Staff
From staff and wire reports
May 10, 2002
Harrison Central won its first state fast-pitch softball championship, taking the Class 5A title, and East Central secured the Class 4A state crown as they joined Newton County (3A) and Clarkdale (1A/2A) in the elite group of champions for 2002.
Harrison Central beat three-time champion Southaven 4-1, 0-5, and 2-1.
The state championship was the first for Harrison Central in any sport other than girls' or boys' basketball.
While many fast-pitch programs are still in their infant stages, Harrison Central coach Jimmy Parker has led the Red Rebelettes for 18 years.
East Central swept Terry 5-0 and 12-2 in the 4A finals.
Terry lost its ace pitcher Kirby Shelby with a knee injury in the fifth inning of the opener. The Delta State signee was unable to return.
East Central's Stephanie Comeaux had a stellar season, going 29-4 with 403 strikeouts in 227 innings. She allowed only seven earned runs.
Marty Stamper
Bogue Chitto taps Sartin
BOGUE CHITTO (AP) Gareth Sartin, who spent the past three years as an assistant in Meridian, has been named football coach at Bogue Chitto.
Sartin, 26, succeeds Carl Cole, who has accepted a coaching position at Johnson High School in Gainesville, Ga., located 40 miles north of Atlanta. Cole led the Bobcats to an 11-2 record last season and advanced to the second round of the Class 1A state playoffs.
Coming to Briarwood
Along with Jackson Prep's Katherine Jones, Tupelo's Alexis Rather and Picayune's Amanda Mathis were the top three golfers in the girls' state amateur tournament last summer at Briarwood Country Club.
They have no problem beating the boys either. Mathis shot a 5-under par 67 to lead Picayune in the first round of the Class 4A Tournament at Dixie Golf Course at Laurel on Tuesday.
Rather shot a 76-77-153 in the Class 5A state tournament at Cherokee Valley Golf Club in Olive Branch. Her two-day score was the third best on the Golden Wave team.
Jones, Mathis, and Rather are all eligible to play in this year's junior state am at Briarwood.
Marty Stamper
Paralyzed coach retires
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) Don Hackney is calling it quits, nearly a year after the longtime Alabama School for the Deaf basketball coach was paralyzed from the waist down in a fall.
A lot of prayer and consideration went into it, but as of June 1 I'm officially retired,'' said Hackney, 53, also the school's athletic director. With all the therapy and exercises I'm having to go through, it came down to making sure I was doing what I needed to do health-wise.
Being an athletics director and head basketball coach is more than an 8-hour-a-day job the way I want the job done anyway and I'm just not able to put in 11- and 14-hour days anymore.''
Bama teams in playoffs
Choctaw County and Southern Choctaw both made the state baseball playoffs in Alabama.
In Class 4A, Choctaw County was eliminated in the first round with a 10-5 loss to Headland. In Class 2A, Southern Choctaw opened with a 7-2 win over Lineville before losing 13-3 to Calera in the second round. The first two rounds in Alabama are single games.
Louisiana plays a single game format all the way through its baseball playoffs.
Marty Stamper
Myers steps down
BOGUE CHITTO (AP) Mickey Myers, who coached Bogue Chitto girls basketball to the state semifinals five times in seven years, has resigned as head coach. Myers, 41, who read his resignation letter at a school banquet early this week, said he was stepping down to spend more time with his wife, who has been receiving treatment for cancer since January, and their three young children.
I feel a tremendous debt to the Bogue Chitto community for the way you have treated me and my family,'' Myers said.
Tupelo turns to Ball
David Ball has been named boys' basketball coach at Tupelo. Ball started his career as an assistant at New Albany. He led Childersburg (Ala.) to a 50-16 record the past two seasons. His 2001-02 team reached the Alabama Class 4A state semifinals. Ball replaces Lee Stratton, who was 515-182 in 16 seasons with the Golden Wave. "If there is anybody that can step in and do a good job, it will be (Ball)," Ingomar coach Norris Ashley said. "I'm sure he is excited, and he loves to compete."
Marty Stamper
Tragedy hits Amite
Two Amite School Center students were killed in a recent automobile accident.
Baseball player Nathan Blalock and his sister, Sara, were killed in the wreck. Sara was the team's statistician.
Marty Stamper
South Pike taps out
It was Senior Night at Brookhaven recently and the Panthers were scheduled to play South Pike in baseball action. South Pike, however, was unable to come up with nine players and had to forfeit the game.
Marty Stamper
Pretty darn good
Just how good is Brookhaven's Stuart Misner on the tennis court? Plenty good. He hasn't lost to a player from Mississippi in either high school or junior league play since he was 12.
He blasted Shannon's Jordan Jones in the Class 4A state finals. Shannon moved up to 4A from 3A this year and Jones had won the 3A singles title three consecutive years.
Marty Stamper
Another good one
Itawamba AHS freshman Lindsey Collins won the Class 3A girls' tennis championship with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Corinth's Catherine Simmons.
Collins is 24-0 this year and her career mark is 121-1.
Marty Stamper