[04/6/02]Lauren Anderson cruised through the first three innings Friday against St. Aloysius.

Then the standout Warren Central freshman had to come in again and save the day.

The Lady Flashes (12-4) scored seven runs off of Brittany Fuller, who replaced Anderson in the fourth inning, to pull the score to 8-7 in the sixth inning forcing WC coach Lucy Young to bring Anderson back into the game.

She retired five of the six batters she faced and WC added five runs in the sixth for a 13-7 win.

“For some reason or another, my kids get intimidated when (Anderson) goes to the mound,” St. Al coach Gene Rogilio said.

“She’s a good pitcher, no doubt about it, but for some reason or another …”

Anderson struck out 12 of the 16 batters she faced and did not give up a hit to earn the win.

Warren Central held an 8-2 lead going into the sixth inning before the Lady Flashes started hitting Fuller.

Allison Hearn led St. Al with a pair of hits and four RBIs, while Laura Beth Lyons had an RBI single and Amber Misiak had a single, triple and an RBI.

“St. Al has a very good team,” Young said.

“… They’ve got people that can hit and I look for them to do good in the playoffs.”

Warren Central (21-3) rebounded convincingly in the bottom of the sixth by sending nine batters to the plate and putting the game away with five runs.

Katie Barnett paced WC with a single, triple and two RBIs, Anna Mitchell had two singles and two RBIs and Keisha Blue had a single, double and four RBIs. Cookie Johnson added a pair of singles and Ashley Vinzant had an RBI single.

“I was glad we came back and hit every time we needed to,” Young said.

“We let them back into the game at 8-7, but came back with some real good hits.”

A Barnett sacrifice fly in the first inning scored Marilyn Landers for a 1-0 lead and the Lady Vikes scored four in the second for a 5-0 lead.

Anderson carried a no-hitter through three innings and struck out 8-of-10 she faced in the opening innings.

The Lady Flashes will meet Mize on Tuesday at Halls Ferry at 5 p.m. with the Division 7-1A championship on the line.

WC 7, NW Rankin 0

Anderson improved to 17-2 with a three-hit shutout against the team the Lady Vikes will meet in the opening round of the playoffs.

Anderson struck out 11 and Warren Central took advantage five Lady Cougars’ errors. Only one WC run was earned.

Mitchell went 2-for-4 and Barnett added a pair of hits and an RBI. Ashley Chaney had a triple as the Lady Vikes blasted nine hits.