Newton County takes one game lead in 3A state

By By Robbie Robertson / The Newton Record
May 2, 2003
DECATUR Newton County fast-pitch softball coach Mac Fanning says there is nothing like experience.
With eight seniors and two straight fast-pitch titles under his belt, he should know.
Fanning and Newton County moved one step closer to a third straight Class 3A title Thursday night, as the Lady Cougars downed Caledonia 7-5 in the opening game of the Class 3A title series.
Newton County (29-4) will travel to Caledonia Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest and the if-necessary game to follow.
Senior Laura Barrett (12-1) will take the hill for Newton County in the opener. Joy Cavenaugh, who improved to 12-1 on the season with the game 1 win, would pitch the third game.
Fanning and his Lady Cougars got more than they wanted out of Caledonia, who didn't put a senior on the field.
in the seventh inning by coming back the way they did."
Cavenaugh went the distance for Newton County but struggled at times. The junior struck out nine but walked five. Two of those walks cost her in the early innings.
Caledonia led off the first with a Megan Johnson walk. She scored after stealing second and a pair of groundouts to give the Lady Confederates a 1-0 lead.
Newton County drew even in the bottom of the second when Shelly Ferguson led off the inning with a triple to right field. She scored on a wild pitch to knot the score at one.
Caledonia reclaimed the lead in the third when No. 9 hitter Elizabeth James drew a leadoff walk. She came home after a pair of wild pitches put her in position to score on a double steal.
Newton County took the lead for good in the bottom of the third on a pair of runs. Kristen Chaney drew a walk and stole second. Dominique Mapp then drove Chaney home with a single. Jennifer Smith then drove home Suzanne Chaney with a ground out to make it a 3-2 contest.
Then Cavenaugh started to get in a grove, setting down Caledonia in order the next two innings and allowing on one base runner in the sixth.
Meanwhile, Newton County started to extend its lead.
The Lady Cougars added two runs in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Mapp and Smith both had RBI singles. Mapp and Chaney scored in the inning.
In the sixth, Jessica Sheehan and Obreisha Davis scored. Kristen Chaney drove in Sheehan and Davis scored on the back end of a double steal.
Caledonia did make Fanning a little nervous in the top of the seventh, as it pushed across three runs, but it wasn't enough as Cavenaugh got two soft popups to end the contest.
Mapp ended the night by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs while Ferguson was 2-for-2 with a single and triple. Suzanne Chaney also scored two runs for Newton County.