Published: October 12, 2008 02:59 am            

Lady Dogs win in three games

MERIDIAN — Anyone familiar with the Clarkdale-Union softball rivalry, be it slow-pitch or fast-pitch, knew Saturday’s Class 2A best-of-three second-round slow-pitch playoff series was going to be a hard-fought battle.

The homestanding Lady Bulldogs won two straight after Union opened the day with a 3-1 victory in Game 1. Clarkdale rolled to a 9-0 win in Game 2 and took the series with a 10-9 win in Game 3.

Clarkdale, 17-6, advances to take on Enterprise for the Class 2A South State championship Tuesday at Enterprise.

The Lady Yellowjackets finished 16-9.

“If you came over here not thinking it was going to take all day, you haven’t watched much Clarkdale and Union,” said CHS head coach Rick Roberson. “Everybody knew it was going to take all day to decide a winner, and it did.

“Both teams played well in spots and not-so-well in spots. Throughout the whole series, the one thing that both did and always do when these two teams play is they played hard and played their hearts out. That’s something you can look at with great pride and great enjoyment.

“A perfect stranger could have walked up and not known a soul playing and they would have enjoyed that.

“We’re fortunate. We knew it was going to be a tough task. Those last three outs were tremendously hard to get. You can’t hit those balls harder than they hit them.”

Game 3 was hanging in the balance as the Lady Jackets loaded the bases to start the top of the seventh.

Katie Vance appeared to have tied the game with a line drive headed to the outfield that Clarkdale second baseman Cayla Coleman snared and turned into a double play at second base. A triple play was avoided as shortstop Sarah Beckman’s throw to first went into the Lady Bulldog dugout allowing Kayla Bates to score to cut the Clarkdale lead to 10-9.

Hayley Stephens lined out to Coleman in nearly the identical spot to end the game.

“I told them before the inning that we didn’t want two runs, we wanted a bunch of runs and we were right there,” said UHS head coach Todd Viverette. “They had to make a play and, by golly, they made one. It was just an impressive play. It’s a game changer.”

Both teams scored three runs in the first inning and two in the second.

CHS went up 10-6 with two runs in the third and three more in the fourth. Union closed to within 10-8 on a two-run single by Ashley Walker in the top of the sixth.

The Lady Bulldogs had 14 hits with Beckman, Coleman, Cory Roberson, Alex Smith, and Brittany Pippin each getting two. Both of Beckman’s hits were doubles. Smith had a two-run double in the fourth inning.

UHS had 18 hits with Casey Cherry getting three and Bates, Jamie Vance, Summer Richardson, Stephens, Tori Holsen, and Bailee Viverette each getting two.

Alex Smith (2-0) got the win in relief, while Shelby Smith (16-9) took the loss.

“Coming into Clarkdale and getting drubbed the second game 9-0 and then having to come from behind 10-6, that last inning is what we’ve been looking for from these girls,” Viverette said. “They showed that they had a little bit of character. We just hope we can take that over into fast-pitch.”

In the opener, Union scored twice in the second inning and took a 3-0 lead with another run in the top of the fourth. Holsen and Viverette had RBI singles in the first inning with two Lady Bulldog errors and singles by Richardson and Stephens getting Union’s third run.

Clarkdale’s only run came in the bottom of the fourth as Beckman led off with a single and scored when the Lady Jackets turned a double play on Roberson’s grounder to first base.

Shelby Smith got the win with Roberson (14-6) taking the loss.

Union had 10 hits with Richardson, Stephens, and Holsen each getting two.

Clarkdale had eight hits with Jessie Clark getting a pair of singles.

The Lady Bulldogs tied the series with a 9-0 shutout in Game 2, which snapped a string of 72 games in which the Lady Jackets had scored at least one run.

Coleman had three singles and two RBI. Olivia Whitlock and Amber Spann both had three of Clarkdale’s 19 hits, while Beckman, Clark, and Erin Adcock each had two. Beckman and Adcock both had two RBI.

Union had three hits, all singles. Shelby Smith took the loss.

Roberson got the win.

        

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