Lady Wolves Falter Late in Region 23 Championship

WESSON – The Co-Lin Softball team hosted one final game at Lady Wolves Field as they faced off against Jones for the Region 23 Championship on Saturday, May 11. The Lady Wolves started the game with an offensive flurry but could not hold off a late rally by the Bobcats as they won 7-5.

The Lady Wolves got on the board first as they scored four runs in the first inning with Madison Moak (Brookhaven) leading off the game by crushing a 1-1 pitch over the left field fence for a leadoff solo home run. Abby Grace Richardson (Brookhaven) and Taylor Efferson (Holden, LA) then drew back-to-back walks to put two runners on with no outs. Emeri Warren (Sebastopol) then hit an RBI single scoring Richardson while Kinley Ainsworth (Brandon) drew a walk to load the bases for the Lady Wolves. Olivia Banes then delivered an RBI single scoring Efferson while Warren later scored on a wild pitch making the score, 4-0.

The Bobcats then got on the board in the second inning with a one-out solo home run cutting the lead down to 4-1. However, the Lady Wolves responded as the bottom of the second started the same way the first inning did as Moak smashed the first pitch she saw over the fence in left center field making the score, 5-1. The Lady Wolves looked to increase the lead as Efferson drew a one-out walk but back-to-back outs ended the inning.

The Bobcats then scored two in the third and held the Lady Wolves scoreless to make the score, 5-3 after three innings of play. After holding the Bobcats scoreless in the top of the fourth, the Lady Wolves looked to increase their lead in the bottom half of the inning as they loaded the bases with two outs, but an inning ending pop out left the runners stranded as the score remained, 5-3.

The Bobcats then took the lead with a three-run home run in the top of the fifth and held the Lady Wolves scoreless in the bottom half as the score stood at 6-5. After a scoreless sixth inning, the Bobcats added one run in the top of the seventh and retired the Lady Wolves in order in the bottom half to secure the 7-5 win.

The Lady Wolves totaled seven hits as Madison Moak and Taylor Efferson had two hits apiece while Emeri Warren, Kinley Ainsworth, and Olivia Banes had one hit each. Moak led the Lady Wolves in RBIs with two while Warren and Banes had one RBI each.

Cara Biswell (Brandon) got the start and moved to 19-4 with the loss while pitching 4.2 innings and allowing six runs, all earned, on six hits with four walks and two strikeouts. Emily Richarde (Lakeland, TN) pitched 2.1 innings of relief allowing one earned run on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

Co-Lin is now 42-5 overall, and the Lady Wolves await their seed placement for the NJCAA Division II Softball World Series which will be announced on Tuesday, May 14. The tournament will be from May 20-25 in Spartanburg, South Carolina where the Lady Wolves will defend their national championship.