Lady Dogs win in three games

Sports

Related Photos

Paula Merritt
Paula Merritt

Discussion

October 12, 2008

By Marty Stamper / Special to The Star The Meridian Star Sun Oct 12, 2008, 02:04 AM CDT

MERIDIAN — Anyone familiar with the Clarkdale-Union softball rivalry, be it slow-pitch or fast-pitch, knew Saturday’s Class 2A best-of-three second-round slow-pitch playoff series was going to be a hard-fought battle.

The homestanding Lady Bulldogs won two straight after Union opened the day with a 3-1 victory in Game 1. Clarkdale rolled to a 9-0 win in Game 2 and took the series with a 10-9 win in Game 3.

Clarkdale, 17-6, advances to take on Enterprise for the Class 2A South State championship Tuesday at Enterprise.

The Lady Yellowjackets finished 16-9.

“If you came over here not thinking it was going to take all day, you haven’t watched much Clarkdale and Union,” said CHS head coach Rick Roberson. “Everybody knew it was going to take all day to decide a winner, and it did.

“Both teams played well in spots and not-so-well in spots. Throughout the whole series, the one thing that both did and always do when these two teams play is they played hard and played their hearts out. That’s something you can look at with great pride and great enjoyment.

“A perfect stranger could have walked up and not known a soul playing and they would have enjoyed that.

“We’re fortunate. We knew it was going to be a tough task. Those last three outs were tremendously hard to get. You can’t hit those balls harder than they hit them.”

Game 3 was hanging in the balance as the Lady Jackets loaded the bases to start the top of the seventh.

Katie Vance appeared to have tied the game with a line drive headed to the outfield that Clarkdale second baseman Cayla Coleman snared and turned into a double play at second base. A triple play was avoided as shortstop Sarah Beckman’s throw to first went into the Lady Bulldog dugout allowing Kayla Bates to score to cut the Clarkdale lead to 10-9.

Hayley Stephens lined out to Coleman in nearly the identical spot to end the game.

“I told them before the inning that we didn’t want two runs, we wanted a bunch of runs and we were right there,” said UHS head coach Todd Viverette. “They had to make a play and, by golly, they made one. It was just an impressive play. It’s a game changer.”

Both teams scored three runs in the first inning and two in the second.

CHS went up 10-6 with two runs in the third and three more in the fourth. Union closed to within 10-8 on a two-run single by Ashley Walker in the top of the sixth.

The Lady Bulldogs had 14 hits with Beckman, Coleman, Cory Roberson, Alex Smith, and Brittany Pippin each getting two. Both of Beckman’s hits were doubles. Smith had a two-run double in the fourth inning.

UHS had 18 hits with Casey Cherry getting three and Bates, Jamie Vance, Summer Richardson, Stephens, Tori Holsen, and Bailee Viverette each getting two.

Alex Smith (2-0) got the win in relief, while Shelby Smith (16-9) took the loss.

“Coming into Clarkdale and getting drubbed the second game 9-0 and then having to come from behind 10-6, that last inning is what we’ve been looking for from these girls,” Viverette said. “They showed that they had a little bit of character. We just hope we can take that over into fast-pitch.”

In the opener, Union scored twice in the second inning and took a 3-0 lead with another run in the top of the fourth. Holsen and Viverette had RBI singles in the first inning with two Lady Bulldog errors and singles by Richardson and Stephens getting Union’s third run.

Clarkdale’s only run came in the bottom of the fourth as Beckman led off with a single and scored when the Lady Jackets turned a double play on Roberson’s grounder to first base.

Shelby Smith got the win with Roberson (14-6) taking the loss.

Union had 10 hits with Richardson, Stephens, and Holsen each getting two.

Clarkdale had eight hits with Jessie Clark getting a pair of singles.

The Lady Bulldogs tied the series with a 9-0 shutout in Game 2, which snapped a string of 72 games in which the Lady Jackets had scored at least one run.

Coleman had three singles and two RBI. Olivia Whitlock and Amber Spann both had three of Clarkdale’s 19 hits, while Beckman, Clark, and Erin Adcock each had two. Beckman and Adcock both had two RBI.

Union had three hits, all singles. Shelby Smith took the loss.

Roberson got the win.

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

Related Photos

Discussion

Lady Dogs win in three games

Site Map

Contact Us