It’s Softball Saturday for the Mississippi Association ofCoaches All-Star Games. It has special meaning for seven girls fromthis area as they see their final high school action tomorrow onNewton County’s field.

Brookhaven is represented by Ashley Sykes on the South 4A/5Afastpitch team and by Brittany Smith on the 4A/5A South slowpitchteam. Lawrence County’s Emily Smith will play for the South 4A/5Aslowpitch squad.

In the Class 1A/2A/3A South fastpitch games, three LincolnCountians will participate. They are Meleah Brown of Bogue Chitto,Amber Restivo of Loyd Star and Britnee Smith of West Lincoln. NorthPike’s Jenna Dickerson will play for the South 1A/2A/3A slowpitchteam.

They reported for all-star practice yesterday, at East CentralCommunity College in Decatur.

The 20th Annual All-Star Girls Slowpitch and the 5th AnnualFastpitch Softball Games will be held on Mack Fanning Field atNewton County High School, located on Highway 503 in Decatur. TheSlowpitch 1A/2A/3A games will begin at 9 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. withthe 4A/5A games to follow at 11:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Fastpitch1A/2A/3A games are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and 4:15, followed bythe 4A/5A games at 6:15 and 8.

Tickets for the day are $5 per person for general admissionseating and are good for all 8 games. The All-Star softball gamesfeature a North versus South format. The South leads the slowpitchseries 9-8-2 and the fastpitch series by a margin of 2-0-2.

Ashley Sykes was a softball star in slowpitchand fastpitch, playing shortstop and pitcher for Coach LisaCovington. She was recognized as The DAILY LEADER’s DefensivePlayer of the Year on the All-Area Fastpitch Team.

As a senior, Sykes compiled a 17-8 record. She batted .507.Recognized as Ole Brook’s MVP, she has signed a scholarship withCopiah-Lincoln Community College.

Brittany Smith also played slowpitch andfastpitch for the Lady Panthers. She had a 21-7 mound record inslowpitch. At the plate, she batted .465.

Britnee Smith also played slowpitch andfastpitch for Coach Andrew Redd’s West Lincoln Lady Bears. She hassigned a scholarship with Co-Lin.

In fastpitch this spring, Smith batted .377 and had 5 RBIs, as acatcher and shortstop.

Meleah Brown, a right-handed pitcher, compileda 19-8 worksheet for Coach Scott Leggett’s Lady ‘Cats, leading themto the South State 1A championship finals. She amassed 224strikeouts and 72 walks.

A Co-Lin signee, Brown had a .337 batting average. She has 2home runs and collected 20 RBIs. She was the DL’s Miss Softball inslowpitch and fastpitch.

Amber Restivo was an outstanding defensiveplayer for Coach Jan Delaughter’s Class 2A division champion LoydStar Lady Hornets. She batted .224 and was named her team’s GoldenGlove Award winner. She has signed a scholarship with SouthwestMississippi Community College.

Jenna Dickerson compiled a 17-15 worksheet forCoach Sonya Wallace’s North Pike Lady Jaguars who won their 10thstraight Class 3A slowpitch division title. She batted .378.

Emily Smith sparkled at shortstop in slowpitchand fastpitch for the Lawrence County Lady Cougars. She batted .679for Coach Tarvey Ward’s slowpitch squad, slugging 7 homers andchalking up 36 RBIs.

In fastpitch, Smith starred for Coach Beronica Stringfellow’sDivision 6-4A championship squad. She batted .388, hitting 2 homersand collecting 24 RBIs, plus stealing 15 bases.

All-Star Coaches

The 1A/2A/3A North slowpitch squad will be coached by VickiHoman of Houlka and Matt Smith of Aberdeen while the South teamwill be guided by David Brown of Morton and Steven Engle ofPurvis.

The 4A/5A South slowpitch coaches are Karen Arnold of Petal andKristi Mitchell of Picayune. The North squad is led by RichardJoyner of Brandon and Phil Webb of Ponotoc.

Coaches for the 1A/2A/3A North fastpitch team will be Trae Embryof Eupora an Steven Holmes of Winona. The South coaches are GeneRogillio. of Vicksburg St. Aloysius and Chris Terry of Ethel. The4A/5A North fastpitch squad is led by David Price of Cleveland andCary Shepherd of New Hope. The South coaches are Gary Ivy of OakGrove and Jimmy Parker of Harrison Central.