Lady Wolves Clinch Third-Straight MACCC Championship

WESSON – The Co-Lin Softball team entered the final day of regular season play hosting Holmes and knowing that a sweep would give their team a third-straight MACCC Championship on Saturday, April 25. The Lady Wolves did exactly what they needed to do as they swept the Lady Bulldogs taking game one, 9-1, and game two, 8-0, to capture the MACCC crown.

GAME ONE

The Lady Bulldogs got on the board first as they scored a single run in the top of the second to take an early 1-0 lead.

However, the Lady Wolves responded with six runs in the bottom of the second as Annie Poole (Brookhaven) hit a leadoff single to get the offense started. Poole advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Stella Roberts (Raymond), took third on a passed ball, and then scored on an RBI-single by Abby Burnette (Brookhaven) to tie the game at 1-1. Brooklyn Reine (Kentwood, LA) and Noelle Laiche (Gonzales, LA) drew back-to-back walks to load the bases with one out. Ayari VanBlaircom (Daphne, AL) then drew a third-straight walk scoring Burnette and giving the Lady Wolves a 2-1 lead. Brelie Phillips (Conehatta) then smashed a 2-0 pitch over the centerfield fence for a grand slam increasing the lead to 6-1.

That score held as the two teams retired 15 straight batters combined until the Lady Wolves struck for three in the bottom of the fifth as Phillips hit a leadoff single to get the offense started. Emilie Williams (Summit) then drew a walk while both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Morgan Chisolm (Madison). Poole then ambushed and crushed the first pitch she saw for a walk-off three-run home run to give the Lady Wolves a 9-1 victory in game one.

The Lady Wolves totaled six hits as Brelie Phillips led the way going 3-for-3 while Annie Poole had two hits with Abby Burnette adding one hit. Phillips led the Lady Wolves in RBIs with four while Poole had three with Burnette and Ayari VanBlaircom adding one RBI each.

Addison Lindley (Madison) got the start and improved to 19-3 with the complete game win allowing one earned run on two hits with seven strikeouts. The 19 wins gave Lindley sole possession of first place in the MACCC for wins!

GAME TWO

The Lady Wolves got on the board first with three runs in the bottom of the first as Brelie Phillips crushed a 3-1 pitch over the fence in left field for a solo home run, her 20th of the season and second of the day.  Emilie Williams then followed with a single. Later in the inning, Annie Poole smashed a 2-1 pitch over the left field fence for a two-run home run, her 12th of the season and second of the day, increasing the lead to 3-0.

After the Lady Wolves left the bases loaded in the bottom of the third, they added one run in the bottom of the fourth as Abby Burnette ambushed and crushed the first pitch of the inning for a leadoff solo home run, her fifth of the season, making the score, 4-0.

The Lady Wolves added three runs in the bottom of the fifth as Katelynn Malone (Bogue Chitto) drew a leadoff walk while Poole followed with a single to put two runners on with no outs. Olivia Higginbotham (Hernando) then hit an RBI-single scoring Malone and extending the lead to 5-0. Later in the inning, Brooklyn Reine (Kentwood, LA) hit an RBI-single scoring Poole while Landry Loper (Olive Branch) drew a walk to load the bases. Higginbotham later scored on a passed ball pushing the lead to 7-0.

The final run of the game came in the bottom of the sixth as Addison Lindley hit a pinch-hit, one-out single while Poole was then re-entered at first base. Poole then took second on a passed ball and later scored on a walk off RBI-single by Cadence Sheppard (Hattiesburg) clinching the game two win, sweep, and outright MACCC Championship for the Lady Wolves.

The Lady Wolves totaled 12 hits as a team as Ayari VanBlaircom, Brelie Phillips, and Annie Poole led the way with two hits apiece while Emilie Williams, Addison Lindley, Olivia Higginbotham, Abbyr Burnette, Cadence Sheppard, and Brooklyn Reine had one hit each. Poole led the Lady Wolves in RBIs with two while Phillips, Higginbotham, Burnette, Sheppard, and Reine had one RBI each.

Lily Crum (Vidalia, LA) got the start and improved to 9-0 on the season with four innings pitched allowing two hits with one strikeout. Ava Browder (Picayune) pitched two innings of relief allowing one hit.

Co-Lin finishes the regular season 44-5 overall, 25-3 in MACCC play, and will host one of the Region 23 Semifinal Tournament Pods as the No. 1 seed. The tournament is set to start with the play-in game between the No. 8 seed Hinds and the No. 9 seed Southwest on Saturday, May 2 with the winner set to play the Lady Wolves on Sunday, May 3.