Newton County topples Poplarville in three games
By By Marty Stamper / staff writer
October 13, 2004
DECATUR The Newton County Lady Cougars advanced to the third round of the Class 3A softball playoffs with a 9-7 win over Poplarville in the third game of their best-of-three series Tuesday night at Mack Fanning Softball Field.
The teams combined for 96 hits in the series.
The Lady Cougars rallied from a 5-0 deficit to take an 8-5 win in the opener. Newton County jumped on Poplarville for seven runs in the top of the first inning in the second game only to wind up losing 13-12.
Newton County briefly trailed 4-2 in the third game before rallying for the series win to advance to Saturday's third-round matchup with Greene County at Leakesville. Greene County swept Choctaw Central on Tuesday.
Leading Newton County for the day were Joni Seale (7-for-10 with five RBIs), Lorna Blackburn (6-for-11), Megan Munn (6-for-9 with two RBIs), Kasie Buckley (5-for-12 with two RBIs), Callie Cumberland (3-for-5 with three RBIs), and Chassidy Smith (4-for-10). Smith (20-11) also got all three pitching decisions.
In the rubber match, Poplarville scored four runs in the top of the third inning to go up 4-2. Jessi Stockstill's infield hit plated two runs.
Newton County (20-12) reclaimed the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third. Melissa Robinson had a sacrifice fly and Smith and Lindsey Little had RBI singles.
Buckley and Robinson drove in runs in the fourth to put the Lady Cougars up 7-5. Cumberland had a clutch two-out single in the fifth to plate a pair of runs for a 9-6 lead.
In the series opener, Newton County got two runs in the bottom of the fifth to close to within 5-2, then added six runs in the sixth to grab an 8-5 lead. Poplarville, which finished 21-9, had the bases loaded when the game ended.
In the sixth, Little and Munn had RBI singles and Kristen Pillsbury had a two-run double.
Newton County outhit Poplarville 14-13. In the second game, the Lady Cougars erupted for seven runs in the top of the first inning with Little having a two-run single.
Poplarville struck for seven runs in the bottom of the second to go up 8-7. The big hit was a bases-loaded triple by Irena Stringer.
The Lady Cougars pulled even at 12-12 in the top of the seventh on a two-out, bases-loaded triple by Seale.
Whitney Sumpter's bases-loaded single scored Kayla Saucier with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
Stringer and Bridget Hannaford both had two hits and three RBIs for the Lady Hornets. Poplarville outhit the Lady Cougars 23-15.
Seale went 3-for-4 with five RBIs to lead Newton County.
