Luckey pitches one hit shutout, Lady Wolves sweep East Mississippi

SCOOBA – Sophomore Bella Luckey pitched a one hit shutout as the No. 5 Co-Lin Lady Wolves swept a doubleheader from the East Mississippi Lady Lions 8-1 in the opener and 9-0 in six innings in game two.

"This is a tough trip to make, but we are super proud of the girls for coming out and fighting," said Co-Lin assistant coach Drake Flowers. "Our girls keep having adversity rolled their way in one form or another and they just keep finding ways to win ball games. Every day they do what they have to do to win the game, and that's definitely how we approached this series. It's also a big part of getting us off to a 6-0 conference start. We are excited to get back at it at home on Monday."

GAME 1

The Lady Wolves scored four runs in the top of the fourth inning. Shelbi Maxwell (Wesson/Wesson Attendance Center) led off the inning with a single. Carlon Brabham's (Amite, LA/Oak Forest Academy) RBI double gave the Co-Lin the 1-0 lead. Abigail Carter (Mendenhall/Simpson Academy) followed with a single. Madalyn Wilkinson (Madison/Germantown High School) singled to score Brabham. Cera Blanchard's (Metairie, LA/De La Salle High School) sacrifice fly plated Carter. Molly Johnson's (Jackson/Northwest Rankin High School) RBI double to left field gave the Lady Wolves a 4-0 lead.

In the top of the sixth inning, Johnson drew a bases loaded walk. Johnna Norman's (Brookhaven/Loyd Star) RBI single plated two more runs. Miller singled to score Johnson and give the Lady Wolves an 8-0 lead.

East Mississippi scored their only run in the bottom of the third on Hope Thames' RBI single.

 "Another outstanding performance from Cera," said Flowers. "Even on days when we don't have our best day at the plate, she gives us a chance to figure things out. And we did just that. We were able to string some hits together and put some runs on the board to create the separation we needed."

Blanchard had another stellar performance in the circle. She tossed complete game scattering three hits, allowing one run (none earned) and striking out three.

Miller had a pair of singles and one RBI. Wilkinson had a double and a single and one RBI. Carter had a pair of singles. Johnson (two RBIs) and Brabham doubled (one RBI). Adding support with a single apiece were Maxwell, Bela Dekovic (Belle Chasse, LA/Belle Chasse High School) and Norman (two RBIs).

Taylor Watkins took the loss for the Lady Lions. She allowed five runs on seven hits and struck out two in five innings of work. Lauren Pickett relieve Watkins in the sixth allowing three runs on two hits and struck out two. Meadows threw the last 1.2 innings. She gave up two hits and struck out two.

At the plate for East Mississippi, Thames singled to account for the only run of the game. Kaitlyn Stroud and Maggie Meadows collected a single apiece.

GAME 2

Co-Lin scored first with a run in the top of the third inning. With one out, Carter singled to center to score Maxwell.

In the top of the fourth, the Lady Wolves added six runs to take a 7-1 lead. Johnson had a two-run RBI single. Brabham had an RBI single. With the bases loaded, Wilkinson was hit by a pitch. Blanchard doubled to pick up two more RBIs.

The Lady Wolves added another run in the top of the sixth as Blanchard picked up her third RBI.

"We were better at the plate in game two," said Flowers. "We barreled more balls up 1-9. Bella did an outstanding job of throwing up zeros and giving us everything she had. We took advantage of some situations when we got runners on base and really capitalized on as many opportunities as we could."

Bella Luckey (Mendenhall/Simpson Academy) pitched a one hit shutout for the Lady Wolves throwing all six innings. She gave up one hit walked two and struck out two.

The Lady Lions were unable to score any runs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game.

Leading Co-Lin's 16 hit attack was Blanchard who went 4-for-4 and three RBIs. Brabham went 3-for-4 and RBI. Maxwell, Dekovic and Norman had a pair of hits apiece. Collecting a hit apiece were Johnson (two RBIs), Miller and Carter (one RBI).

Lily Ramsey got the only hit for East Mississippi.

NEXT UP | The Lady Wolves will host Coastal Alabama North for a doubleheader on Monday, March 8. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.