Heritage takes final series from Ridgeland
The Heritage Generals got big nights from seniors Madeline Stone and Riley Kokinda as they swept a doubleheader last Tuesday night at Ridgeland to begin the final three-game Region 7-AAAA series of the year.
Heritage 8, Ridgeland 3
The Generals went up 5-0 after two innings and never looked back to pick up the Game 1 victory.
Kokinda was 4 for 4 with two doubles, including a two-run double in the top of the second inning. She scored three times and drove in three runs, while Stone went 2 for 3 with three RBIs. Two of those RBIs came on a homerun in the top of the sixth.
Jessica Gibson went 2 for 3 with a double and Macie Collins drove in a run with a double in support of senior pitcher Brinley Horner. Horner pitched all seven innings, striking out one and walking one, while the three runs she allowed were earned.
Shayla Rosson had a huge game for the Lady Panthers. She went 4 for 4 at the plate with two doubles and a solo homer, which came in the bottom of the fifth.
Cordasia Watkins and Carlin Scott each had a hit and an RBI, while Makayla Cope and Maddie O’Toole added two hits each. Katie Wagner gave up eight earned runs in seven innings and had one strikeout.
Heritage 10, Ridgeland 3
The Navy-and-Red scored two runs in the first, third and fifth innings, highlighted by an RBI-single from Stone in the first inning and a tworun homer from the catcher in the third.
The Generals added two more in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Kokinda brought in a run with a double and Jenna Ryans plated two with a single. Avah Morrison capped the scoring with a solo shot in the top of the seventh.
Stone went 3 for 3 with two runs scored and three more RBIs to finish the doubleheader 5 for 6 with six RBIs. Kokinda went 6 for 7 on Tuesday after a 2 for 3 performance in Game 2, while Ryans and Morrison each went 2 for 4.
Zoe Wright went 2 for 3 with a run scored, and Lexi Duckett drew two walks and scored twice, while Kelsey Anderson allowed two earned runs on four hits and two walks in seven innings of work in the circle. She finished with five strikeouts.
Watkins, Kylie Collins and Elly Barnes had singles for Ridgeland. Scott drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, while Jenna Morgan made a Senior Night memory with a solo homerun in the bottom of the fourth.
Hadley Middlebrooks allowed eight earned runs in seven innings. She walked four and struck out one.
Heritage 4, Ridgeland 3
The series concluded with a hard-fought battle in Boynton on Thursday and it was the Generals getting a walk-off single from Harper Carstens in the bottom of the seventh to give the Navy-and-Red a three-game sweep.
Ridgeland took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Morgan scored at the end of
a double play by Heritage, only to see the Generals answer with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Both runs came home on a single by Collins.
Both defenses were sharp all game, especially early on as each team turned two double plays in the first three innings to kill potential rallies.
Heritage pushed home
another run in the bottom of the fifth as Kokinda drew a walk and scored on a double by Stone, but the Lady Panthers would answer a half-inning later.
Cope got things started with a one-out single and Maggie Dickson was hit by a pitch. Emma Fowler, in as a courtesy runner for Cope, scored on an RBI-bunt single by Morgan as Dickson scooted to third on the play.
Dickson later came home on a wild pitch, but that would be all the runs Ridgeland got as a squeeze bunt attempt resulted in Heritage relief pitcher Addi Edwards fielding the ball and throwing home to Stone, who tagged Morgan out at the plate to keep the game tied.
Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Kokinda ripped a leadoff double and Stone drew a walk after Kokinda scampered to third on a wild pitch. Collins was issued a free pass to load the bases and, following an infield popup, Carstens came through with the game-winning hit to left field to give Heritage a sweep of the series.
Carstens, along with Stone and Duckett, had two hits apiece for the Generals, while
Wright and Abbie Young each had singles.
Horner began the game in the circle for Heritage and pitched one inning. She gave up one earned run on two hits with four walks. Edwards threw the final six innings and gave up eight hits, but allowed just two earned runs and struck out four batters.
Morgan, Rosson and Watkins had two hits apiece for the Lady Panthers, while Scott, Collins and Barnes each had singles.
Wagner pitched the first two innings for Ridgeland, giving up one earned run on six hits and one walk. Middlebrooks finished the game in the circle. She allowed two earned runs on four hits and four walks in 4.1 innings of work, striking out one batter.
Heritage (17-3) will focus its attention on the Class AAAA state playoffs. As the No. 2 seed from Region 7, they will host an openinground, best-of-three series this week against Fayette County (9-8), the No. 3 seed from Region 5.
Meanwhile, Ridgeland saw its season come to an end with a 7-18 mark.