Lady Wolves Sweep Ranked Matchup with Tigers

BOONEVILLE – The Co-Lin Softball team took to the road for a ranked MACCC matchup against Northeast Mississippi. The No. 4 Lady Wolves swept the No. 11 Tigers taking game one, 5-4, and then dominating game two, 13-2.

GAME ONE

The Lady Wolves got on the board first with a solo run in the top of the first as Brelie Phillips (Conehatta) drew a leadoff walk. Phillips then stole second and advanced to third on a bunt single by Olivia Banes (Pelahatchie). After Taylor Efferson (Holden, LA) drew a walk to load the bases, Avery Williams (Olive Branch) hit a sacrifice fly scoring Phillips to give the Lady Wolves a 1-0 lead.

The Lady Wolves then increased their lead with one run as Efferson and Avery Williams hit back-to-back singles with one out. After both runners advanced to scoring positions on a groundout by Kynlee Madere (Paulina, LA), Emeri Warren (Sebastopol) drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Morgan Chisolm (Madison) then drew a walk scoring Efferson and making the lead, 2-0.

The Tigers then tied the game with two runs in the bottom half of the inning making the score, 2-2. That score held until the Lady Wolves broke through with three runs in the top of the sixth as Emilie Williams (Summit) drew a walk to lead off the inning in a pinch-hit appearance. Abby Burnette (Brookhaven) was then re-entered to run and advanced to third as Carson Hughey hit a bunt single and advanced to second on an error. Burnette then scored on an obstruction call after a flyout by Phillips to give the Lady Wolves a 3-2 lead. Banes then stepped up to the plate, took one swing of the bat, and crushed a 3-2 pitch over the left field fence for a two-run home run, her eight of the season, to increase the lead to 5-2.

The Tigers then took advantage of a leadoff solo home run, a triple, and a sacrifice fly to score two runs in the bottom of the sixth and cut the lead down to 5-4. After a scoreless top of the seventh, the Tigers got the tying run on second and winning run on first, but the Lady Wolves ended the game with a groundout to secure the 5-4 victory.

The Lady Wolves totaled nine hits as Olivia Banes, Morgan Chisolm, and Carson Hughey had two hits apiece while Taylor Efferson, Avery Williams, and Kynlee Madere had one hit each. Banes led the Lady Wolves in RBIs with two while Avery Williams and Chisolm had one RBI each.

Emily Richarde (Lakeland, TN) got the start and improved to 14-0 with the win while pitching 6.2 innings and allowing four runs, all earned, on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts while Taylor Efferson got her first save of the season with 0.1 innings of relief as she retired the only batter she faced.

GAME TWO

The second game of the doubleheader saw the Tigers take advantage of an error by the Lady Wolves in the bottom of the first to score a run and take an early 1-0 lead.

However, the lead was short-lived as the Lady Wolves responded with three runs in the top of the second with Emeri Warren leading off with a single. Emilie Williams then reached on a fielder's choice as Warren was forced out on the play. After Stella Roberts (Raymond) drew a walk, Carson Hughey hit an RBI-single scoring Emilie Williams to tie the game at 1-1. Later in the inning, Olivia Banes hit a two-out, two-RBI double scoring Roberts and Hughey to give the Lady Wolves a 3-1 lead.

The Lady Wolves then exploded for five runs in the top of the third as Kynlee Madere hit a leadoff single but was forced out as Warren reached on a fielder's choice. Warren was then forced out as Emilie Williams reached on a fielder's choice. Roberts then stepped up to the plate, took one swing of the bat, and crushed a 2-0 pitch over the centerfield fence for a two-run home run, her fourth of the season and first of the game, to increase the Lady Wolves lead to 5-1. Hughey then extended the inning with a single while Brelie Phillips then hit an RBI-double scoring Hughey. Banes then scored Phillips with an RBI-double while Efferson scored Banes with an RBI-single to push the lead to 8-1.

The Tigers then scored their second run of the game in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 8-2. The Lady Wolves then added four runs in the top of the fourth as Warren and Emilie Williams hit back-to-back singles to start the game. Roberts then stepped up to the plate, took one swing of the bat, and smashed a 1-0 pitch over the centerfield fence for a three-run home run, her fifth of the season and second of the game, to make the lead 11-2. Later in the inning, Banes hit a two-out single, stole second, and scored on an RBI-single by Efferson to push the lead to 12-2.

The Lady Wolves added their final run in the top of the fifth as Roberts stepped up to the plate with one out and clobbered a 2-1 pitch over the fence in centerfield for a solo home run, her sixth of the season and third of the game, to make the lead 13-2. The Tigers then had a baserunner reach on an error with one out, but strikeout followed by a fielder's choice ended the game securing the 13-2 victory and sweep for the Lady Wolves.

The Lady Wolves had 20 hits as a team with Stella Roberts, Olivia Banes, Avery Williams, and Carson Hughey having three hits each while Taylor Efferson, Kynlee Madere, and Emeri Warren had two hits apiece with Brelie Phillips and Emilie Williams adding one hit each. Roberts led the Lady Wolves in RBIs with six while Banes had three, Efferson had two, with Phillips and Hughey adding one RBI each.

Taylor Efferson got the start and improved to 13-2 with the complete game win allowing two unearned runs on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

Co-Lin improves to 34-4 overall, 21-1 in MACCC play, and will return to action on the road against East Central on Wednesday, April 16. First pitch between the No. 4 Lady Wolves and the Warriors is set for 3 p.m., in Decatur.