Lady Wolves Stay Undefeated in Conference with Sweep of Bears

WESSON – The Co-Lin Softball team resumed MACCC play with a road doubleheader against Southwest as part of the Coca-Cola Classic on Wednesday, March 20. The Lady Wolves swept the Lady Bears taking game one, 11-2, and game two 14-6.

GAME ONE

The Lady Bears looked poise to score first in game one as they loaded the bases with two outs, but a strikeout brought the inning to a close with no scoring. The game remained scoreless until the Lady Wolves plated two runs in the top of the fourth.

Abby Burnette (Brookhaven) got the offense started with a leadoff single, but was caught stealing second for the first out. Later in the inning, Brelie Phillips (Conehatta) stepped up to the plate, took one swing of the bat, and crushed a 2-1 pitch over the fence in centerfield to give the Lady Wolves a 1-0 lead. Olivia Banes (Pelahatchie) then singled and advanced to second as Taylor Efferson (Holden) drew a walk. Avery Williams (Olive Branch) then delivered an RBI-single scoring Banes to increase the lead to 2-0.

The Lady Wolves extended their lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth as Emeri Warren (Sebastopol) hit a leadoff triple to get the offense started. Morgan Chisolm (Madison) then stepped up, took one swing, and smashed a two-run home run over the left field fence to make the score, 4-0. The Lady Wolves then added three runs in the top of the sixth as Warren drew a walk with two outs to extend the inning. Chisolm then came up and crushed a 2-1 pitch over the centerfield fence for a two-run home run, her second of the game, to make the lead 6-0. Burnette then followed with a single and scored on an RBI single by Carson Hughey (Brookhaven) increasing the lead to 7-0.

After the Lady Bears scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the sixth, the Lady Wolves responded with four runs in the top of the seventh. Banes hit a leadoff single and then advanced to second on an error on the play. After Banes stole third, she then scored on an RBI-single by Taylor Efferson making the score, 8-1. Emma Kate Fimiano (Petal) was then brought in as a pinch runner for the Lady Wolves and advanced to third on double by Avery Williams. Later in the inning, Fimiano scored as Warren reached on an error increasing the lead to 9-1. Later in the inning, Burnette drew a walk with two outs to load the bases while Williams and Warren then scored on a two-RBI by Hughey to give the Lady Wolves an 11-1 lead.

The Lady Bears hit back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the seventh then followed with a fielder's choice, RBI groundout, and a fly out to secure the 11-2 victory for the Lady Wolves.

The Lady Wolves totaled 17 hits as each member of the lineup had at least one hit in the game with Avery Williams, Morgan Chisolm, and Carson Hughey having three hits each, while Olivia Banes and Abby Burnette had two hits apiece, with Brelie Phillips, Taylor Efferson, Kynlee Madere, and Emeri Warren had one hit each. Chisolm led the Lady Wolves in RBIs with four, Hughey had three, while Phillips, Efferson, Williams, and Warren had one RBI each.

Emily Richarde (Lakeland, TN) got the start for the Lady Wolves and improved to 7-0 with the win while pitching six innings and allowing one earned run on three hits with five walks and three strikeouts. Keegan McCorkle (Tyronza, AR) pitched one inning of relief allowing one earned run on two hits.

GAME TWO

The second game of the doubleheader saw the Lady Wolves get on the board first as she plated two runs in the top of the first as Brelie Phillips hit a leadoff double to start the game. Olivia Banes then followed by drawing a walk while both then scored on a two-RBI double by Taylor Efferson to give the Lady Wolves a 2-0 lead.

The Lady Wolves then added two runs in the top of the third as Phillips got the offense going with a leadoff single. Later in the inning, Efferson was hit-by-pitch to put two runners on with one out while Avery Williams reached on a fielder's choice as Phillips was forced out on the play. Kynlee Madere then singled while an error on the play scored both Efferson and Williams to increase the Lady Wolves lead to 4-0.

The Lady Bears then scored six runs in the bottom of the third to take a 6-4 lead over the Lady Wolves. The Lady Wolves responded with four runs in the top of the fourth as Abby Burnette and Carson Hughey hit back-to-back singles to put two runners on with one out. After both runners advanced on a double steal, Burnette then scored on a sacrifice fly by Phillips making the score, 6-5. Banes then tied the game with an RBI-single scoring Hughey while an error on the play advanced Banes to third. Efferson then gave the Lady Wolves the lead back with an RBI-single scoring Banes and making the score, 7-6. After Avery Williams hit the third-straight single of the inning, Madere delivered a fourth straight single picking up an RBI as Efferson scored and increased the lead to 8-6.

The Lady Wolves then scored six runs in the top of the fourth as Morgan Chisolm hit a leadoff single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Burnette. Hughey then drew a walk while Phillips then singled to load the bases for the Lady Wolves. Banes then delivered a three-RBI double as Chisolm, Hughey, and Phillips all scored to increase the lead to 11-6 while Banes then scored on an RBI-single by Efferson making score, 12-6. Williams then reached on an error while a sacrifice bunt by Madere advanced both runners into scoring position. Warren then hit a two-RBI single scoring Efferson and Williams to increase the lead to 14-6.

The Lady Bears then got two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, but a groundout brought the inning to an end securing the game two victory and sweep for the Lady Wolves.

The Lady Wolves totaled 15 hits as once again each member of the lineup had at least one hit with Brelie Phillips and Taylor Efferson having three hits each while Olivia Banes and Kynlee Madere had two hits apiece with Avery Williams, Emeri Warren, Morgan Chisolm, Abby Burnette, and Carson Hughey having one hit each. Banes and Efferson led the Lady Wolves in RBIs with four apiece while Warren had two with Phillips and Madere adding one RBI each.

Taylor Efferson got the start for the Lady Wolves and earned a no-decision while pitching 2.1 innings and allowing six runs, four earned, on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Emma Kate Fimiano pitched 0.1 innings of relief with one walk while Keegan McCorkle picked up the win (4-2) with 2.1 innings of relief with two hits, one walk, and four strikeouts.

Co-Lin is now 21-3 overall, 8-0 in MACCC play, and will return to action hosting Northwest on Saturday, March 22. First pitch between in the Top-10 matchup between the No. 9 Rangers and No. 7 Lady Wolves is set for 1 p.m. in Wesson.