Rockets look for gold at State Tennis Tourney

By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
April 24, 2003
Neshoba Central qualified for the Class 4A state tennis tournament in all five divisions as the Rockets took either firsts or seconds in last week's Division 2-4A Tournament at Lake Lowndes at Columbus. Neshoba was 9-0 in the regular season.
In boys singles, Cody Killen of Neshoba defeated Evan Ashford of Kosciusko 6-3, 6-2 in the finals.
In girls singles, Katie Cunningham knocked off Sarah Maddox of Aberdeen 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the finals.
In mixed doubles, Neshoba's Breanna Stinson and Tyler Hardy took first place with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Ragan Foster and Chris McKee of West Point.
In boys doubles, Phillip Savell and John Kilpatrick finished second, losing 7-6, 6-3 to Louisville's Tyler Kemp and Joe LeBlanc in the finals.
In girls doubles, Molly Talbert and Tara Ryals placed second after losing 6-1, 6-0 to New Hope's Stacie West and Patty Ann Green in the finals.
The Neshoba boys track team placed fifth out of seven schools in the Division 2-4A track meet at Kosciusko with 67 points. Louisville tallied 127 points to take first place.
The Rockets took firsts in the 800, 1600, and 3200 meter runs. Anthony Jones won the 800 and 1600 with Jamie Herrington taking the 3200.
The Lady Rockets came in fourth with 52 points. Noxubee County had 121 points to win the meet.
The Lady Rockets got firsts in the 400, 800, 1600, and 3200 meter runs. Trish Tahwahah won both the 400 and 1600 meters with Ashley Jenkins taking the 800 and 3200.
The Lady Rockets fast-pitch team saw its season end in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs with a 3-2, 5-3 series loss to Grenada. The Lady Rockets wound up 22-8.
In the 3-2 loss, Neshoba outhit Grenada 8-5 with Kady Chandler and Alana Moore both getting a pair of singles.
Philadelphia
The Tornadoes rallied from a one-game deficit to take their best-of-three baseball series with North Pike 3-5, 17-7, and 13-0.
In the series opening loss, Jerwarrick Hartzog and Tyler Threadgill both had a double. Jonathan Booker (5-2) got the loss.
In the 17-7 win, Hartzog, Jonathan Booker, and Shay Grady all homered for the Tornadoes with Cameron Tawater (6-3) getting the win.
In the 13-0 blanking, a nine-run second inning did more than enough damage to advance the Tornadoes to a second-round series with Purvis. Jonathan Holland (6-3) got the win. Threadgill had three hits and four RBIs.
The Tornadoes track squad placed third out of four teams in the Division 5-3A meet at Carthage with 33 points. Carthage took first place with 123 points.
Philadelphia got its lone first place in the shot put with a 43-feet, 2-inch toss from Anthony Gray.
The Lady Tornadoes also came in third, taking their only first in the 100 meters, thanks to Shannon Crockett. The Philadelphia girls also had 33 points. Heidelberg won with 87 points.
Newton
The Tigers are in the market for several new football coaches as four-year head man Brad Peterson will be at Forest next fall. He's also taking assistants Jud Boswell and Shea Taylor with him to Scott County.
Peterson was 26-19 in four years as head coach at Newton.
The Tigers went 0-3 in their final week of the baseball season. Newton lost 10-9 to Morton in the regular season finale. Morgan Craven had a double and two singles and Zack Logan had a single and a double for the Tigers.
Sumrall swept Newton 12-5 and 8-3 in the opening round of the Class 2A playoffs. In the 12-5 loss at Newton, Austin Bonds launched a three-run homer for the Tigers. Zack Logan had a triple and two singles, while Lucas Poole and Cody Savell both had two singles. Poole (5-4) took the loss.
In the 8-3 loss, Jeffrey Logan had two singles for the Tigers.
In track, the Lady Tigers won the Division 5-2A meet at Carthage with 111 points.
The Newton boys placed second with 95 as Williams-Sullivan had 104.
The Lady Tigers took first place in the 200, 400, and 3200 runs, the 100 and 300 hurdles, the 400, 800, and 1600 relays, and the discus, shot put, and triple jump. East Central Community College basketball signee Kotreece Bender won both the discus and the shot put. She's undefeated in both over the last two years.
The Newton boys got firsts in the 100, 200, and 400 meter runs, the discus, and the 400 and 800 meter relays.
Newton County
The Lady Cougars swept Purvis 13-3 and 10-0 to win their second round Class 3A fast-pitch series.
In the 13-3 win, Joy Cavenaugh threw a no-hitter and Jennifer Smith hit a double and a triple to drive in four runs. Jessica Sheehan had a double and a single with Kristin Chaney picking up a pair of singles.
Chaney had two singles and a homer in the 10-0 win at Purvis, while Smith had two singles.
Union
The Yellowjacket baseball team swept Stringer 10-0 and 12-2 in the first round of the Class 1A state playoffs. Jody Blount (5-2) threw a two-hit shutout in the series opener. Jordan Robinson had a single and a triple with Jacob Casey getting three singles.
In the series clincher, Wes Henry (3-5) allowed one hit in four innings to get the win. Robinson and Danny Cain both homered with Casey and Blount getting two hits each as Union improved to 19-11 going into a second-round matchup with St. Aloysius.
The Lady Jackets finished 19-7 after dropping 8-2 and 4-1 games to Mooreville Saturday at Union after winning 12-8 in the season opener at Mooreville. Lauren White had four hits and three RBIs in the 12-8 win. Morgan Breland, Lindsey Walker, and Marley Smith each had two hits with Chasity Yates adding a two-run single.
The Hornets saw their baseball season end with 5-2, 12-1 losses to Mize in the opening round of the Class 1A state playoffs.
Bryan Williamson had a homer and a single in the series opener.
In the 12-1 loss, Williamson had two singles, while Eric Watkins had three singles as the Hornets wrapped up play with a 17-12 mark.
Kemper Academy
The Lady Rams knocked off Lamar 15-10 on Tuesday in slow-pitch softball action to up their record to 18-5. Kayla Mosley went 4-for-5 to lead Kemper. Jessica Warren, Mindi Turnipseed, and Kasey Barnes each had two hits for the Lady Rams.
Kemper and Central Academy are battling for the Academy 3-A championship. The Class A North State and state tournaments will be hosted by Central in Macon in early May.
Choctaw Central
The Warriors and Lady Warriors both placed fourth out of four teams in the Division 5-3A track meet at Carthage.
The Warriors had five points, while the Lady Warriors had 22. Neither had a first-place finisher.
Leake Academy
On the baseball diamond, the Rebels swept Victory Christian 9-3 and 12-0 to improve to 10-15 before losing 11-8 to Lamar in last week's action.
In the 9-3 win over Victory, Colby Beem had a pair of singles and a home run. Seventh grader Allen Johnson (2-1) got the win.
In the 12-0 shutout, Allen Byrd (3-0) got the win with Thomas Chipley hitting two doubles and Daniel Tolleson adding a triple.
In the loss to Lamar, Jeffrey Chancellor went 4-for-4 for Leake. Byrd had a 3-for-4 effort.