Lady Eagles dispatch WCCA

Published 8:07 am Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Porters Chapel Academy only had to work half an hour to get a full-blown win Tuesday.

Reaghan Smith hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run, and the Lady Eagles scored 12 runs in the bottom of the first inning to beat Wilkinson County Christian 12-1 at Bazinsky Park.

The game lasted only 35 minutes and was called in the bottom of the first inning when WCCA forfeited. PCA had sent 15 batters to the plate and recorded one out.

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“We understand. They didn’t have a program last year, and they’ve got a lot of young players this year,” PCA coach Amanda Yocum said. “I was there when we were just getting started here 10 years ago.”

The easy win had some positive and negative effects for PCA (17-6, 5-2 District 5-AA). On the plus side, it was a needed breakout performance after a weeklong slump in which they’d been shut out twice and played poorly against first-place Clinton Christian.

Eight of PCA’s nine starters scored a run. Mallarie Ashley scored twice while going 2-for-2 with two doubles and an RBI. Kaylee Hinson tripled and scored two runs, and Shelby Barwick had a triple and an RBI.

“Just some good cuts at the plate, and the ones we hit were hard hits,” Yocum said. “Playing is always good, because they get in the mindset of ‘It’s game time.’”

On the down side, the abbreviated game didn’t allow for Yocum to sub in as many players as she wanted to. At pitcher, in particular, she had planned to allow backup Sabrina Embry to throw the whole game. Instead, Embry faced five batters in the top of the first inning, struck out one and allowed one unearned run before her outing ended.

Yocum said Embry will have several chances to pitch in the coming days. The Lady Eagles play a doubleheader Wednesday at home against district rival Trinity, beginning at 4 p.m. They have another key district game Monday night at Franklin Academy.

“We were hoping she would get another inning or two,” Yocum said of Embry. “We’re going to try to pitch her these next couple of district games.”

Central Hinds 11, St. Aloysius 5

Central Hinds scored six runs in the top of the third inning to blow open a close game, added three more in the fourth inning, and went on to beat St. Aloysius Tuesday at Bazinsky Park.

Grace Upshaw went 3-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored for St. Al (1-9). In her last three games, Upshaw is 8-for-9 with four RBIs and three runs scored.

Warren Central 25, Greenville 3

Warren Central pounded out 17 hits, took advantage of 12 errors by Greenville, and scored in all five innings in its run-rule slow-pitch softball victory over Greenville on Tuesday.

Kasy Cortezie went 3-for-4 with two doubles, five RBIs and three runs scored to lead a laundry list of players who had big days at the plate. The first six batters in the lineup each had at least two hits, and five of the six drove in more than one run. Ten of Warren Central’s 17 hits went for extra bases.

Sarah Kate Smith was 3-for-3 with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs. Ashley Coley was 3-for-5 with a double, triple, three RBIs and four runs scored.

Morgan Stewart, Cocoa Fultz and April Lynn also had multiple hits. Fultz scored four runs and drove in two.

Clinton 14, Vicksburg 4

Kelsey Lockridge hit a three-run home run in the top of the first inning for Vicksburg, but it couldn’t sustain its fast start and got run-ruled by Clinton.

The Missy Gators scored four runs in the first inning and then not again despite getting 10 hits. They left seven runners on base.

Kayla Foster finished 3-for-3 with a run scored, and JaQuaisa Porter had two hits.

Clinton scored six runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead for good, and finished with 19 hits. Sixteen of the 19 hits were singles. Grace Whitworth was 4-for-4 with a double, RBI and three runs scored, while Niajah Womack and Ashley Henze drove in three runs apiece.

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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