Lady Trojans rally to knock off Quitman

Sports

Discussion

September 17, 2008

Anonymous The Meridian Star Wed Sep 17, 2008, 09:26 AM CDT

By Chris Brennaman

assistant sports editor

On the coldest night so far in this softball team, Northeast Lauderdale took out Division 5-4A's hottest team.

The Lady Trojans dug themselves out of a two-run deficit and held off a late rally by Quitman to down the previously unbeaten Lady Panthers 7-5.

"I am really proud of these girls," said Northeast coach Chris Harper. "We didn't play very well against Enterprise (a 7-5 loss on Monday). We were a totally opposite team (Tuesday night).

"We came a long way in this game. I'm proud that we never gave up."

NEL (8-7, 3-1) didn't take the lead until the sixth inning.

Quitman (8-1, 4-1) jumped out to a 3-1 lead through four and a half innings, thanks in large part to the bat of Ashley Downing. The cleanup hitter drove in a run in each of her four at bats.

Downing's sacrifice fly in the first scored Krysten Davis, who had reached on an error to start the game.

"We made some mistakes," Harper said. "We had some errors that led to runs for Quitman, but I'm proud of our effort."

The 1-0 lead didn't last long as the Lady Trojans knotted it up in the bottom of the frame. Kandance Knight singled past a diving Shannon Mosley and moved to second when Thara Hall was intentionally walked. Knight came home one batter later when Lauren Zettler singled.

NEL had a chance to take the lead in the third. With Knight on second Jennifer Hembree send a ball to center, but the Knight was tagged out at the plate on a throw from Sarah Beth Neely.

Quitman went back on top in the next inning. Tori Dew led off, sending a ball to left field. The ball was booted by Kaley Hull and Dew ended up on second. Downing's double that rolled to the fence brought her teammate home.

The Lady Panthers tacked on one more in the fifth after Downing sent a bases-loaded single to left, giving QHS a 3-1 lead.

The Northeast girls put on their rally caps and scored the next six runs of the game. With two outs in the fifth and two runners in scoring position, Hall tied the game on a single.

The next time the Lady Trojans came to the plate, they produced their biggest inning. They put up four runs on five hits, a pair of walks and an error — all coming with two outs.

Four straight singles scored the first three runs. Two came off the bat of Hull, while Mallory Pace drove in the other. After a walk put runners on first and second, Hall sent a shot into left center. Pace came around from second and slid in just beating the tag.

Down to their last three outs, the Lady Panthers still had some fight left. Davis and Stormy Lewis both singled to start the seventh, and each moved up a base on Dew's groundout. A sacrifice fly by Downing plated Davis, leaving QHS down by three.

The next batter, Relanda McFarland, reached on an infield single, putting runners at the corners for Mosley. Her fly ball to left center was dropped by Knight allowing Lewis to score easily.

Quitman was unable to keep the rally going as Rachael Johnson grounded to short to end the game.

The win puts Northeast in a tie with QHS atop the Division 4-4A standings, although Quitman does hold the tiebreaker.

"This was a big win," Harper said. "But we're still not out of the woods yet."

NEL travels to West Lauderdale Thursday, while Quitman hosts West Jones.

Text Only

Sports

Neel leaving champion War Eagles for Panthers
    Eric Neel spent three seasons coach at East Central. The Hornets played in three state championship games.
   Neel then coached the past three years at Wayne County, leading the War Eagles to three straight Class 5A fast-pitch state crowns.
   And now, he doesn’t see why the same can’t occur at Quitman. After guiding Wayne County to its third straight championship Saturday, Neel resigned his position in Waynesboro on Thursday to replace Kacie Roberson at Quitman.

May 26, 2012
Unexpected Honor
Winning a state championship, that Blake McMullen expected.
To be named the Player of the Year in Class 3A by the Mississippi Association of Coaches, that caught the Southeast Lauderdale senior off guard.

May 26, 2012 3 Photos
RCA’s Lee and pair of Generals chosen for All-Star tilt
Russell Christian Academy senior Camryn Lee and Newton County Academy duo Clay Upton and Dillon Williams will wrap up their senior seasons today.
The local trio will play in the MAIS All-Star Class A game at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson at 2 p.m. The Class AA-AAA game will follow.

May 25, 2012
McFarland named first-team All-American for Jones County
The honors continue to come in for the Jones County Junior College softball program.
Pitcher Ginger Lonergan and centerfielder Relanda McFarland were both named to the NJCAA Division II All-American first-team on Thursday.

May 25, 2012
A Family Affair
Five days. Two state titles. One family.
It’d be hard to find a family that had a better week than the one Robbi and Shay Cooper just experienced.

May 25, 2012 2 Photos
Roundup — Stephens receives Sekul Award
Adding to his impressive collection of coaching hardware, East Mississippi Community College head football coach Buddy Stephens was presented with the 2011 George Sekul Award during the All-American Football Foundation’s Banquet of Champions held earlier this month at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

May 24, 2012
The Drought Is Over
All Mason Irby was hoping for was to find a way on base.
The Southeast Lauderdale sophomore did that and so much more. Irby's single with two outs in the seventh inning broke a tie, lifting the Tigers to a 6-3 MHSAA Class 3A state championship win at Smith-Wills Stadium on Wednesday, and handing Southeast (32-7) its first title since 1966.

May 24, 2012 2 Photos 1 Slideshow
Ramey shines again, hurls Tigers to MHSAA Class 3A crown
    The bar was set pretty high.
   After all, Southeast Lauderdale senior right-hander Colby Ramey needed just 65 pitches to beat Kossuth in Game 1 of the MHSAA Class 3A state championship game Thursday.
   However, according to fellow senior Blake McMullen, Ramey cleared the hurdle Wednesday when he scattered eight hits on 104 pitches to finish off the Aggies in a 6-3 state championship-clinching win at Smith-Wills Stadium on Wednesday.

May 24, 2012 2 Photos
Southeast wins MHSAA Class 3A Championsip Slideshow from the MHSAA Class 3A state championship game between Southeast Lauderdale and Kossuth.
May 23, 2012 1 Photo
Briarwood to host Emerald Coast Golf Tour in June
Professional golf is coming to Meridian.
The Emerald Coast Golf Tour will be holding the Meridian Pro-Am Classic at Briarwood Country Club June 26-29.

May 23, 2012
More Sports Headlines

Sports

Search Results

Discussion

Lady Trojans rally to knock off Quitman

Site Map

Contact Us