By Marty Stamper/Special to The Star

DECATUR — Just when the North Class 1A-2A-3A slow-pitch team looked hopelessly outmatched, the North girls rallied to gain a split in their Mississippi Association of Coaches all-star doubleheader with the South.

The South cruised to a 16-2 victory in the opener and jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the second contest.

Thanks to six walks in the first inning — five by Mary Helen Ford of St. Andrew’s — and a pair of two-run singles by Miranda McCormick of Hamilton and Allie Garcia of Kossuth, the North scored seven times in the bottom of the first inning to take a 7-6 lead en route to a 13-12 win.

“They didn’t hit well the first game and we probably hit better than we possibly could,” said South coach Mark Fanning, a native of Hickory. “You mix in some walks the second game, but they mixed in a lot better hits also. They came back twice after we took the lead without getting a walk.

"Both teams came back in the seventh inning. I think everybody enjoyed that game. Slow-pitch is supposed to be an offensive game and that’s what it was.”

The South reclaimed the lead at 9-7 with three runs in the top of the third with Summer Robinson of Enterprise making it 8-7 with a two-run triple to right field and then scoring the ninth run on a fielder’s choice by Newton County’s Brooke Boulton.

The North scored three times in the bottom of the fourth to take a 10-9 lead. North Most Valuable Player Lakyn Nelson of North Pontotoc and Choctaw Central’s Tiffani Briscoe had RBI singles in the inning.

In the top of the seventh, the South tied the game on a RBI triple by East Webster’s Iyeshia Thomas and took a 12-10 lead when Boulton’s hot grounder got past both the North second baseman and right-center fielder as Thomas scored and Boulton circled the bases.

Nikisha Strickland of Biggersville pulled the North even at 12 apiece with a two-run triple to center field in the bottom of the seventh inning and scored the game-winner on a two-out single by Courtney Mason of Mooreville.

Nelson, Jordan Northington of Smithville, Mercedes Cotton of Choctaw Central, McCormick, and Garcia each had two hits for the North with Cotton doubling.

Thomas had a single, a double, and a triple for the South. Robinson had two singles and a two-run triple. Kelli Howard of Bogue Chitto, Boulton, Jessalyn Rozzell of Enterprise, and Hali Sasser of North Pike each had two hits with Sasser getting a two-run home run.

In the opener, the South cruised to a 16-2 with Elizabeth Blackwell of Natchez Cathedral getting three singles and a triple in a 25-hit attack.

Clarkdale’s Cayla Coleman had three singles, South MVP Jessica Halterman of East Webster had two singles and a triple to drive in three runs, Thomas had a single, a double, and a triple; Boulton had two singles and a triple, and Rozzell had three singles. Robinson and Taquita Collier of Bay Springs both had two singles.

Sasser got the win with Mason taking the loss.