Jones hurls 1-hit shutout at Ole Brook Lady Panthers
Published 5:00 am Monday, April 10, 2006
MONTICELLO — Lawrence County pitcher Ashley Jones spent someextra practice time Sunday afternoon, working on a rise pitch withher father. The overtime paid off Thursday night as Jones authoreda 1-hit shutout, directing the Lady Cougars to a 5-0 win overBrookhaven’s Lady Panthers.
Jones (16-5), a 5-foot-3 junior right-hander, struck out 5batters and walked none in the Division 6-4A showdown. The victoryavenged an 8-7 loss at Brookhaven earlier in the season.
“I was throwing mainly fastballs,” said Jones, her brownpigtails dangling in the brisk wind. “The one that really got meexcited was my rise pitch. I started practicing it Sunday, so Ijust got it.”
Lawrence County (18-5, 6-1) is tied with Brookhaven (13-7, 6-1)for the division’s top rung. Ole Brook hosts Terry Monday night inthe final regular season game. Lawrence County visits Terry Tuesdayfor a season finale. The top two teams in the division advance tothe state playoffs which begin April 15. The No. 1 seed hosts anopening round series while No. 2 must play on the road.
Ole Brook coach Lisa Covington praised Jones’s performance. “Shedid a great job. We couldn’t come up with any hits. Lawrence Countyhit the ball well against us.”
A 1-out, 7th-inning, sharp single to left field by Ole Brook’sAshley Sykes broke up Jones’s bid for a no-hitter. She was thefirst Panther runner to reach first base.
Monday night’s home date with Terry also will serve as openhouse for the new field house and softball facilities at MartinField. Activities begin at 4 p.m., followed by the junior varsitygame at 5 and the varsity at 6.
LCHS head coach Beronica Stringfellow said she was delightedwith her team’s offensive performance, especially against thehard-throwing Sykes. “This is the first time we’ve hit the ballthat well off that kind of pitching.
“Our defense was solid, too,” said Stringfellow. “Ashley threwthe ball well for us. She bowed up tonight. Her rise ball wasjumping and she got a couple of batters with it.”
Sykes gave up 6 hits and 4 earned runs. She struck out 3 battersand walked 2.
The Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Tiara Townsendsmashed a single off the glove of Sykes. Ashley Jones reached on afielding error and the first LCHS run scampered home.
In the second frame, third baseman Hannah King lashed a triplethrough the gap in right-center field and the ball rolled all theway to the fence. Kate Davis followed with an RBI double to right,making it 2-0.
Stringfellow’s team erupted for 3 runs in the fifth. Kingwalked, Davis beat out a slow roller for a hit and Townsend walkedto load the bases. King scored on a fielder’s choice and it was3-0.
LCHS shortstop Emily Smith capped the surge with a 2-run singleup the middle, making it 5-0.
“My defense played great,” said Jones. “They did a great jobbehind me.”
Junior Varsity Results
Ole Brook won the preliminary JV game 9-2 in 4 innings. TerriHodges (13-1) was the winning pitcher.
A triple by Jordan Beeson paced the victory. Brittany Batemanand Ashley Parks singled.
LCHS got a double from Lorrin Baker and 2 singles from KatieStokes.