CHOCTAW —
The Southeast Lauderdale Tigers formed a circle, locking arms and singing “Lean on Me” in unison after sweeping Choctaw Central 11-5, 11-1 to advance to the state championship against South Pontotoc on Saturday. Despite winning Division 5-3A, Southeast had to travel to Choctaw Central due to the fact the Warriors had yet to host a playoff series.
However, head coach Mack Fanning and his girls made themselves right at home.
“It's hard to get on the bus and go somewhere when you win the district,” Fanning said. “This field has always been hard for us to play on. They beat us here this year 7-6, but we pulled through this time.”
Southeast Lauderdale didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard against Choctaw Central, making the most of a two-out rally in the first inning of Game 1 to put the Warriors in a 4-0 hole early.
The Tigers came back just as hard in the second inning, scoring three more runs and extending the lead to 7-1.
The Warriors rallied back for three more runs in the bottom of the second, but nothing could stop the Tiger bats, as the Southeast plated two more runs in the top of the third before third baseman Nancy Williams lifted a two-run home run in the fourth to make the score 11-4 and put the game back out of reach.
Dori Timms led the Southeast with three hits, as the Tigers cruised to the easy victory. Williams, Katie Dawson and Denisha Knight also collected multiple hits for the Tigers in Game 1.
“We hit pretty well up and down the line up today,” Fanning said. “We expect our first five girls to always put it in play, but tonight we had good production from our seven, eight and nine hitters as well.”
In Game 2 it was much of same for the Tigers, as Southeast held the Warriors in the top of the first before coming out firing for five runs in the bottom half of the inning.
In the second inning, Timara Trusell rocketed a three-run bomb to right in the second inning to make the score 7-0, as Southeast was well on its way to the title.
Starting pitcher Taylor Powell was also dialed in in the circle, controlling both sides of the plate and frustrating Warrior batters all night. Powell did not issue a single walk in either game while picking up both wins for the Tigers.
“Powell pitched really well tonight,” Fanning said. “If we are not careful we can tend to walk people at key times. Powell not walking anyone worked out great for us, and she had a great night.”
Next up for Southeast will be a match up against North State champion South Pontotoc. The Tigers lost to Nettleton in the state championship last year, and Fanning said he hopes his team is more ready to take the next step and bring a title home to Southeast.
“We look forward to representing the south in 3A,” Fanning said. “Certainly we have a challenge in front of us, and we look forward to Saturday morning.”
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Tigers lean on each other, sweep Warriors
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(PHOTOS) Newton County Class 4A State Championship
Slideshow from games one and two of the MHSAA Class 4A State Championship.
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Not done yet
After being shutout less than 24 hours earlier, the Newton County Cougars used a 10-inning affair to force a Game 3 in the Class 4A championship series, topping Lewisburg, 2-1, in Game 2 at Trustmark Park.
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Hollins focused on Spurs, not his contract
Lionel Hollins has been more successful than any Grizzlies coach and will be a free agent after June 30.
He has the Grizzlies in the Western Conference finals for the first time and has won more games with this team than any other coach. -
Slive focused on future after big changes
Mike Slive sprawls in a comfy arm chair, propping his feet on a coffee table between one massive tome on Winston Churchill and an even thicker "Encyclopedia of Southern Culture."
He's relaxed and feeling awfully good about the state of the Southeastern Conference.
It's a rare moment of calm for the SEC's cerebral commissioner, but he can afford it since his "A pile" of things to do has gotten considerably slimmer over the past two years. -
’Bama bounces Ole Miss from SEC Tourney
For the second day in a row, the Rebels went into extra-innings but were unable to emerge with the victory as No. 21 Ole Miss (37-22) fell to Alabama (34-25) 7-5 in 10 innings at the SEC Tournament on Thursday.
With the loss, the Rebels were eliminated from the SEC Tournament and will now await NCAA Tournament selection announcements at 11 a.m. on Monday. The selection of the NCAA Tournament field will be televised by ESPNU.
Tanner Bailey (4-2) suffered the loss for the Rebels, allowing two runs on one hit with two walks in 2.1 innings of work. -
Roy shows big-league talent in win
Every youth leaguer dreams of being a Major League Baseball player. In Tuesday's Cardinals-Mets game, 8-year-old Trace Roy swung the bat and flashed some leather that looked like a glimpse into the future.
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Cougars fall in Game 1
A sixth inning rally by Lewisburg handed the Newton County Cougars their first lost of the postseason, 2-0, in Game 1 of the Class 4A baseball championship at Trustmark Park.
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Bulldogs win again, beat S. Carolina in SEC Tournament
Demarcus Henderson and Wes Rea both had RBI singles in the ninth inning to lift Mississippi State to a 5-3 win over South Carolina Wednesday night in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The Bulldogs (42-16) loaded the bases with one out before Henderson and Rea drove in runs on consecutive at-bats for the second time in the game.
Mississippi State had beaten Missouri 2-1 in 17 innings Tuesday night, matching the longest game in SEC tournament history.
Reliever Myles Gentry (4-0) limited the Gamecocks (39-17) to a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth.
Gentry pitched 5-2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out eight.
Rea was 3 for 4 while Henderson drove in three runs.
Mississippi State led 3-0 before South Carolina tied it up in the fourth.
Max Schrock drew a bases loaded walk and Brison Celek followed with a two-run single. -
Hogs top Ole Miss in SEC Tournament
For the second time this season the Rebels played an extra-inning affair with the Razorbacks, but with a different outcome as No. 21 Ole Miss (37-21) fell to No. 15 Arkansas (36-19) 2-1 in 10 innings on Wednesday.
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Fundamentals leading Newton County to Jackson
In 2006, Newton County baseball won the 3A state title. Since then, they've moved up a class but haven't had much luck – until now.
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