Lady Wolves Win MACCC Softball Tournament Championship

ELLISVILLE – The No.5 Lady Wolves needed two games to secure their first MACCC Softball Tournament championship since 2009 as the No.4 Lady Bobcats forced a decisive 15th game on the fourth and final day of action at the tournament. The Lady Bobcats forced the if necessary game beating the Lady Wolves, 12-8; however, the Lady Wolves bounced back and won the final game of the tournament, 4-3, to earn the MACCC Softball Tournament title and the overall top seed for the Region 23 tournament this upcoming week.

"I am so unbelievably proud of this team," stated Co-Lin head coach Meleah Howard. "This group has something very special about them. They have an edge to them and that has never let them back down from a battle. Every game this year has been tough and I could not be prouder of how tough we have been throughout all 49 games we have played this year."

Game One

The Lady Wolves opened the scoring with three runs in the top of the first as Faith Kivett (Tallulah, La.) drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a one-out single by Maddie Weeks (Clinton). Kivett then scored as Madalyn Wilkinson (Madison) reached on an error while Weeks then scored on an error while Wilkinson stole second making the score, 2-0. Wilkinson later scored on a two-out, RBI-single by Josie Meggs (Kosciusko) making the score, 3-0.

The Lady Bobcats then scored one run in the bottom of the first and two runs in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 3-3. The game remained tied until the bottom of the fourth inning as the Lady Bobcats doubled their score with three runs and took a 6-3 lead. The Lady Wolves cut the lead down to 6-5 with two runs in the top of the fifth as Kivett hit a leadoff single and then later scored as Maddie Weeks took one swing of the bat and crushed a 3-2 pitch over the center field fence for a two-run home run (her tenth of the season).

The Lady Wolves then had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the sixth but could not push a run across as the Lady Bobcats responded with a big bottom half of the inning by plating six runs and increasing their lead to 12-5. However, the Lady Wolves continued to fight as they plated three runs in the top of the seventh started off with Weeks smashing a leadoff solo home run over the left field fence (her 11th of the season and second of the game) on the first pitch of the inning making the score, 12-6. Wilkinson then drew a walk, while Meggs drew a walk with one out, and then Shelbi Maxwell (Wesson) singled to load the bases with one out. Wilkinson then scored on a sacrifice fly by Bela Dekovic (Belle Chasse, La.) while Meggs scored on an RBI-single by Mary Ansley Chrestman (Cleveland) making the score, 12-8. The Lady Bobcats then made a pitching change and were able to get a fly out to end the game securing the 12-8 win and force a decisive winner-take-all game for the championship.

Maddie Weeks led the Lady Wolves offense going 3-for-4 at the plate while Madi Miller and Josie Meggs added two hits each. Faith Kivett, Madalyn Wilkinson, Shelbi Maxwell, Lila Blackburn (Red Bay, Ala.), and Mary Ansley Chrestman had one hit apiece as the Lady Wolves totaled 12 hits including two home runs for Weeks. Weeks also led the Lady Wolves in RBIs with three while Meggs, Chrestman, and Bela Dekovic had one RBI each.

Belle West (Byram) got the start for the Lady Wolves and fell to 17-3 pitching four innings allowing six runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Madalyn Wilkinson pitched two innings of relief allowing six runs on six hits with one strikeout and two walks.

Game Two

The Lady Wolves once again got the scoring started with three runs in the bottom of the first as Faith Kivett and Madi Miller hit back-to-back singles. Maddie Weeks once again took one swing of the bat and smashed an 0-2 pitch over the centerfield fence for a three-run home run (her 12th of the season and third of the day) giving the Lady Wolves a 3-0 lead.

The Lady Bobcats then tied the game with a three-run home run of their own in the top of the second making the score, 3-3. The Lady Wolves then worked themselves out of potential scoring opportunities for the Lady Bobcats in the third and fourth innings while being retired in order in both innings to keep the score tied at 3-3.

After the Lady Bobcats were retired in order for the first time in the game in the top of the fifth, the Lady Wolves scored one run in the bottom half of the inning as Kivett hit a one-out single, advanced to second as Maddie Weeks drew a two-out walk, and then scored on an RBI-single by Madalyn Wilkinson making the score, 4-3.

Both teams were then retired in order in their respective halves of the sixth inning keeping the score 4-3. The Lady Bobcats got their final at-bat in the top of the seventh and went groundout, groundout, and then Cera Blanchard (Metairie, La.) sealed the championship for the Lady Wolves with a strikeout.

Faith Kivett and Mary Ansley Chrestman went 2-for-3 at the plate leading the Lady Wolves offense during the game. Madi Miller, Maddie Weeks, and Madalyn Wilkinson had one hit apiece as the Lady Wolves totaled seven hits including one double for Chrestman and one home run for Weeks. Weeks once again led the Lady Wolves with three RBIs while Wilkinson had one RBI.

Cera Blanchard got the start and improved to 24-4 with the complete game win allowing three runs on five hits with five strikeouts and five walks across seven innings pitched.

"It took a lot of heart and toughness to accomplish what this team did this week. They could have laid down and quit, but they just found a way to win over and over again," added Howard. "This is the win that we told each of them we were going to get when we started recruiting them four years ago, so to see it become a reality is something special."

Co-Lin is now 41-8 overall and the Lady Wolves will return to action as the top seed in the Region 23 Softball Tournament which will be hosted by Co-Lin in Wesson starting on Wednesday, May 11.

"We have had a lot of first so far this season…we have won 40+ games for the first time in a long time at Co-Lin, first state championship since 2009…and there are many more to come for this team and program," stated Howard. "Our goals for this season aren't finished though…we are going to celebrate this championship and then on Monday turn our attention to our next goal, which is to qualify for the national tournament and compete for a regional championship. Thankfully we get to do that on our own field here in Wesson!"