Lady Lions sweep Northwest

By By Jeff Byrd / staff writer
March 20, 2002
SCOOBA With the bats working well, the East Mississippi Community College Lady Lions swept a doubleheader from visiting Northwest Mississippi Tuesday afternoon.
The Lady Lions batted around three times in game one in building an 18-0 lead through four innings. They went on to post an 18-3 victory.
In game two, East scattered six runs over its four final at-bats and then held on for the 7-6 win. The sweep retains first place for coach Pam Moore's team in the MACJC North Division.
East Mississippi is now 6-8 overall and a perfect 4-0 in the North Division. The Lady Lions will host Mississippi Delta on Saturday.
EMCC 18
Northwest 3
The two teams were scoreless heading into the bottom of the second when the Lady Lions began putting pressure on Northwest. The Lady Rangers could not handle the bunt and the result was a defensive collapse.
Three errors off EMCC bunts resulted in three runs for the Lady Lions. The rout was on. Jessica Vaughn capped the six-run rally with a two-run double.
In the EMCC third, five hits and three more Northwest errors landed seven additional runs. Kati Fleming had a two-run triple and Natalie Garton had a RBI single to key the inning.
Four straight hits in the fourth extended Northwest's bad day. The hits helped make it an 18-0 romp for the Lady Lions.
Northwest did salvage some pride by scoring three runs in the fifth. Jennifer Hanna had two-run single for the key blow.
For the game, Vaughn was 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs. Fleming was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Garton drove in two while Shannon Brown had two hits and two runs scored. East finished with 12 hits.
Fleming got the mound win allowing just two hits. She struck out six. Margaret Presley took the loss for Northwest.
EMCC 7
Northwest 6
With the score tied at 2-2, the Lady Lions took command in the bottom of the fourth.
Denita Quinn reached on a bad throw to first which resulted in her taking second base. She then went to third on a ground out. Keely Rutledge sent Quinn home on a fielder's choice. Northwest opted to try and get Quinn out at home, but the throw was late.
Another Northwest error, this one coming on a bad throw from home plate, sent Rutledge in for a 4-2 lead.
In the fifth, Kati Fleming walked and then scored on a single by Kristin McClelland to make it 5-2.
In the sixth, Constance Logan ripped her second double of the game to start a two-run rally. Kayla Murphy singled and Vaughn followed with her second RBI of the game to score Logan. Murphy later scored on Northwest's fifth error of the game.
Much like the first game, Northwest put together its best punch in its final at-bat. An error at short and a costly 0-2 count hit-by-pitch opened the door. A two-run triple by Lucas made it a 7-5 game. She then scored to make it 7-6. Fleming, however, got a pop out to first to end the game.
East had nine hits in the second game. Murphy had three singles and Logan had two doubles. Quinn also had a double.
Fleming picked up her second win of the day. April Pierce took the loss for Northwest.