Published: September 10, 2008 01:15 pm      

Double trouble: New Hope tops Lady Cats, Lady Trojans

By Rocky Higginbotham

sports editor

New Hope hasn't won seven of the last eight Class 4A state championships in slow-pitch softball without plenty of offensive firepower.

And before they left Northeast Park Tuesday night, the Lady Trojans showed this year's squad can hit a little, too.

After holding off Meridian High School for a 5-3 victory, New Hope banged out 17 hits in a rout-shortened, 14-0 win over Northeast Lauderdale.

"They hit the ball as well tonight as anyone I've seen this year," Northeast coach Chris Harper said. "And we didn't hit with them."

The five-inning matchup between Northeast and New Hope capped a busy night at Northeast Park, one which also included an 11-0 win for NEL over division foe West Jones.

Northeast Lauderdale is now 7-6 overall and 2-1 in division play, while Meridian High fell to 9-6 on the season. The Lady Trojans are off until Monday when they host Enterprise, while Meridian hosts Northwest Rankin Thursday.



New Hope 5

Meridian 3



The Lady Wildcats' bats were silent until the bottom of the seventh inning, when a three-run rally proved too little, too late.

Trailing 5-0, Meridian got a rally started on a 15-foot infield single by Brianna Hampton. Devonna Gilmer followed with her third hit of the game, and — after the second out of the inning was recorded — Roneshia Brown walked to load the bases.

J'Quandra Hickman followed with an RBI single to plate Hampton, then Shakira Stribling ripped a two-run double to left-center field that made it 5-3. That's where the rally stopped, as the Lady Wildcats stranded two of their 11 baserunners in scoring position to end the game.

New Hope took command early with a four-run rally in the first inning, with Deshuni Sanders and Anna McRae both delivering two-run singles.

Sanders finished with two hits and two RBIs, while Kelli Petty, Haley Tutor, Victoria Culpepper and Anna Hodson all had two hits for New Hope. Brooke Phillips was the winning pitcher.

Gilmer was the losing pitcher but was also 3-for-3 to lead Meridian, while Stribling finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Olivia Taylor also had two hits for MHS.



Northeast 11

West Jones 0



The Lady Trojans made quick work of the Lady Mustangs in their first action of the night, blanking West Jones in a Division 5-4A matchup.

Northeast got a three-run double from Thara Hall in the first inning, then scored three more times in the second to jump ahead 6-0.

Hall finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs and Lauren Zettler was 3-for-3 with three runs scored to pace the Lady Trojans. Lauren McElroy was 2-for-2, Jennifer Hembree was 1-for-1 with a pair of walks and three RBIs and Crystal Hill was also 1-for-1.

Zettler was also the winning pitcher.



New Hope 14

Northeast 0



Hits were hard to come by for the host Lady Trojans in the nightcap, but not for New Hope.

The Lady Trojans from Lowndes County banged out nine of their 17 hits in the first two innings, jumping out to a commanding 8-0 lead they would not relinquish.

Sanders was 4-for-4 with a home run, four RBIs and three runs scored to lead New Hope, while Petty and Tutor both went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs apiece. Hodson and Kristen Harvey both chipped in two hits.

Northeast had seven hits in all, including a single and double from Allison Heflin. Hall and Hill also had two singles each and Zettler was the losing pitcher.