Poplarville ends NC’s title run

Published 12:24 am Sunday, October 18, 2009

JACKSON — The Poplarville Hornets may very well be the best slow-pitch softball team in the state this year. A 6-2, 8-4 series sweep of Newton County for the Class 4A state championship Saturday at the V.A. Fields only added to their impressive 2009 resume.

Newton County, the two-time reigning state champion in Class 3A before moving up this year, finished 21-8 with three losses to Poplarville. The Hornets ended with a 28-2 mark.

“One break here and one break there and we might be state champions, but give Poplarville all the credit because they made us pay for our mistakes,” Newton County head coach Justin Chaney said.

“I’m extremely proud of them. I’m more than glad for what they did this year. This is the fifth consecutive year they’ve been here and I’m extremely proud to be here. They just kept getting better and better as the season went on. This was a fun group to coach.

“You’ve got to learn from mistakes and these are life lessons well learned. The bottom line is we didn’t get it done in pressure-type situations.”

The Hornets scored twice in the first, third, and sixth frames in winning the opener and held Newton County to single runs in the first and fifth innings. RBI singles by Kayla Fendlason and Paige Miller put Poplarville up 2-0 in the top of the first inning.

In the bottom of the inning, Catherine Brand hit a two-out double and scored on a single by Katie Brackeen for Newton County.

Another RBI-single by Miller and a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Kelly Ladner gave the Hornets a 4-1 lead in the third.

Newton County had the bases loaded with one out in the fifth, but pinch-hitter Brandi Palmer grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The Cougars closed to within 4-2 in the fifth as Emily Davis led off with a single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Brackeen. Newton County stranded two more runners.

Poplarville added two more runs in the sixth on fielder’s choices by Nicole Smith and Micah Davis.

Newton County had 12 hits with Nikki Cumberland, losing pitcher Wendy McCracken (20-7), and Erin Thornton each getting two singles.

Poplarville had 10 hits with Miller getting three singles and two RBI.

Winning pitcher Alyssa Graeter had a single and a double, while Janessa Dedeaux and Branda Northrup both had a pair of singles.

In Game 2, Poplarville took control early with five runs in the top of the first inning. The Hornets had five singles, the last three coming with two outs, and benefited from three Cougar errors.

The Cougars rallied to within 5-4 with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Cumberland hit a two-out triple and scored on a single by Brand. Brackeen and Shelby Bishop both singled with an error on Bishop’s hit to right field plating a pair of runs. Samantha Cooley followed with an RBI double.

“Another hit here or there and we’re tied up,” Chaney said of the comeback bid.

Poplarville would have none of it as the Hornets added three insurance

runs in the top of the seventh with one scoring on a throwing error by Emily Davis on an attempted double play, another when Graeter tagged and scored from second base on a fly ball when Brand and Thornton collided in the outfield, and another on a double by Miller.

The Cougars had eight hits with Brand and Bishop both getting two singles.

McCracken (20-8) took the loss.

Poplarville had 12 hits with Graeter getting three singles and Miller, Rachel Breland, and Kayla Ross two singles each.

Graeter got the win.