Lady Wolves sweep MS Delta to open season
Published 2:40 am Sunday, February 2, 2014
WESSON – The Co-Lin Lady Wolves opened the 2014 season with a bang as they swept the Mississippi Delta Lady Trojans 14-0 and 11-2, both games lasted five innings each.
“I thought we played pretty well in all areas today,” said Lady Wolves head coach Allen Kent. “We were only able to get on the field for a couple of hours this week with the snow. Our pitchers did a good job of limiting Delta’s opportunities. Our freshmen had a great opening day. We were really pleased with the way they performed.”
Co-Lin returns the action on Friday as they travel to Lorman to take on the Alcorn Lady Braves. The double header begins at 1 p.m.
Lady Wolves 14, Lady Trojans 0 (5 innings)
In game one, the Lady Wolves jumped out to an early lead scoring 8 runs in the first three innings.
Three Lady Trojan errors, a two-run double by Missy Romero, an RBI single by Breanna McKenzie, and an RBI single by Kayla Craft during the second inning led to 7-run Lady Wolves outburst.
Co-Lin added a run on the third to take a 8-0 lead. Adrienne Wallace led off the inning with an infield single. With one out, Romero and McKenzie hit back-to-back singles to load the bases. Freshman Brooke Laigast’s short pop-up to left to plate Wallace.
The Lady Wolves exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning highlighted by McKenzie’s grand slam. Kaitlin Cooksey singled. Julian Johnson reached on an error that scored Cooksey. Wallace singled and Romero walked to load the bases. On a one ball, one strike count, McKenzie sent a towering shot over the left field fence. But the Lady Wolves weren’t done. Laigast singled to left. Payton Sheffield drew a walk. Kristen Byrd singled. Cooksey, up for the second time in the inning reached on an error that scored Laigast.
The Lady Trojans couldn’t get anything going against Lady Wolves sophomore pitcher Brooke Gonzales. Gonzales pitched four innings allowing just one hit, walking two and striking out four. Freshman Rheagan Welch pitched the final inning. She struck out one, walked one and allowed one hit.
Emily Cox absorbed the loss giving up 14 runs (5 earned) on 16 hits, striking out four and walking three.
McKenzie racked up five RBIs on grand slam and two singles for the Lady Wolves. Romero added a double and two singles for two RBIs. Savannah Johnston, Laigast, and Wallace added a pair of singles apiece. Hannah Roberts doubled. Adding support with a single apiece were Byrd, Craft, and Cooksey.
Lady Wolves 11, Lady Trojans 1 (5 innings)
Game two started out similar to game one. After a scoreless first inning, Co-Lin added a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. Hannah Roberts reached on an error to start the inning. She scored when the Delta left field misplayed a Payton Sheffield line drive. A groundout by Meghan Johnson plated Sheffield to give the Lady Wolves a 2-0 lead.
The Lady Trojans scored a run in the top of the third inning. Tori Blackburn doubled to left field. A groundout by Amber Adams advanced Blackburn to third.
Co-Lin scored four runs of its own in the bottom of the third. Co-Lin Lady Wolves scored on an error, an RBI double by Roberts, a sacrifice fly by Sheffield, and a sacrifice fly by Johnson.
The Lady Wolves tacked on another five runs in the fourth. An error scored Savannah Johnston to start the scoring in the inning. That was followed up by an RBI double by Laigast. Roberts singled to center field to score courtesy runner Adrienne Wallace. Sheffield’s sacrifice fly scored Laigast. An error and a fielder’s choice plated two more runs for the Lady Wolves to give them a 11-1 win.
Johnson also had a good first outing in the circle. She allowed one run on two hits, struck out three and walked two. Freshman southpaw Payton Sheffield came in to pitch the final inning. She allowed no runs, no hits, struck out none and walked none.
Sara Gunter was charged with the loss for the Lady Trojans. She allowed 11 runs on 9 hits in four innings, walked none and struck out none.
At the plate, Laigast led Co-Lin with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. McKenzie (1 RBI) and Roberts (3 RBIs) added a double and a single. Romero added a double and two RBIs. Adding support with a single apiece were Byrd and Johnston.
Taylor Seiler and Blackburn (1 RBI) doubled for the Lady Trojans.