North/South State titles up for grabs

Sports

Discussion

October 14, 2008

By Rocky Higginbotham / Sports Editor The Meridian Star Tue Oct 14, 2008, 12:21 AM CDT

"You could see it coming."

Those were the words of veteran Southeast Lauderdale coach Mack Fanning once his team advanced to the Class 3A state semifinals tonight against rival Newton County.

In fact, truer words couldn't be spoken of nearly every one of tonight's area matchups in the MHSAA slow-pitch softball playoffs.

Just call it rivalry night.

Eight area teams will battle for North or South State championships tonight in best-of-three series which will decide who goes to Jackson Saturday.

Four of those eight are playing against one another: Newton County hosts Southeast for the Class 3A South State title in Decatur at 5:30, while Enterprise entertains rival Clarkdale for the Class 2A South State crown at 6 p.m.

State championships will be decided Saturday at the V.A. Fields in Jackson.

In Decatur, the host Lady Cougars are 23-5 and riding a 15-game winning streak. In fact, the last team to beat No. 4 ranked Newton County was Southeast, which is 19-7 on the year.

Louisville (25-4) and North Pontotoc (23-6) battle at 4 p.m. in Ecru for the Class 3A North State crown.

In Enterprise, the host Lady Bulldogs — the defending Class 2A state runnerups — are 19-10 on the season while fifth-ranked Clarkdale sports a 17-6 record. Enterprise beat No. 10 ranked St. Andrew's in second-round action, while Clarkdale needed three games to dispose of area rival Union.

The Clarkdale/Enterprise winner gets either Baldwyn or Hamilton in the state finals.

At Northeast Park this afternoon, Meridian High School will go for a second straight South State crown when the Lady Wildcats host Northwest Rankin. Game 1 is set for 4 p.m.

The No. 9 ranked Lady Cougars (22-6) topped MHS twice to win the division title this fall, but the Lady Wildcats earned the right to host the South State finals after going on the road twice during the postseason.

Meridian, the defending Class 5A state runnerup, is 18-10 on the year. The MHS/NWR winner gets either Grenada or Tupelo in the finals.

In Quitman, the No. 2 ranked Lady Panthers (19-1) entertain No. 7 ranked Poplarville (18-4) for the Class 4A South State crown. Game 1 of their series is set for 5 p.m.

That winner gets either Neshoba Central or New Hope, who will battle once again at 5 p.m. at New Hope today for the Class 4A North State crown. The Lady Rockets are 16-8 after knocking off No. 6 Pearl and Pontotoc in the playoffs.

New Hope, meanwhile, is 24-2 and ranked No. 1. The Lady Trojans have won seven of the last eight 4A state championships.

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

North/South State titles up for grabs

Site Map

Contact Us