Lady Jackets go on road to crash Lady Charger party
ACKERMAN – It may have been senior night for a special group of Choctaw County Lady Chargers, but it turned out to be a winning night for the Starkville Lady Yellowjackets.
For seniors Allie Brown, Laiana Cork, Shakeria Smith, Ayana Taylor, Brysa Maxwell and Lizzie Thomas, it was the last time they’d showcase their softball skills for the Lady Chargers.
The Lady Jackets came to town and crashed the Choctaw County party.
Starkville attacked early and Choctaw County could not overcome the damage. The Lady Jackets picked up the 10-4 decision.
“We put the ball in to play really well,” SHS coach Ronald Campbell said. “We look to build off of this and continue to play well in the playoffs this Friday.”
In the first inning, the Lady Jackets were retired 1-2-3 as the Lady Chargers came to bat.
Choctaw County led off with a single from Smith followed by a walk to Brown.
Smith and Brown advanced to second and third respectively, but neither one was able to reach home as the scoreless affair continued.
The second inning was another scoreless one as neither team reached the plate.
In the third inning, Starkville reached base on a single from Ally Barefield, but any chance of further progress was halted as third basemen Kalee Goodin snagged
the final out to keep the game scoreless.
Starkville pitcher Anna Rae Taylor worked a 1-23 inning to keep the Lady Chargers off the board.
“I’m very excited to get this win (Tuesday night),” Taylor said. “In the playoffs, I expect we will have to give a lot of hard work and energy.”
In the fourth inning, Summer McDonald scored on a triple by Alexandria Gibson to give the Lady Jackets a 1-0 lead throughout the inning as Choctaw County was unable to get anything going.
The fifth inning saw Barefield score on a single from Karlie Brooks, who scored shortly after on a triple from Anna Prell Brooks giving Starkville a 3-0 lead.
AP Brooks was plated on a single by Jaleeyah Armstead making the score 4-0 in favor of the Lady Jackets as the Lady Chargers went to the bullpen for relief pitcher Akira Taylor who was able to get the final out.
Choctaw County went down in order as Starkville continued to cling to its four-run lead.
In the sixth inning, the Lady Jackets scored six runs off several Lady Charger miscues to lead 10-0.
Choctaw County got back to back singles from Brown and Thomas with two outs followed by a inside the park three-run home run by Ayana Taylor making the score 10-3 heading to the final inning.
Despite the deficit, Laiana Cork and the Lady Chargers weren’t going away as she tripled and later scored on a pass ball making the score 10-4.
SHS wouldn’t allow anymore hits and took the victory.
“We just need to focus more on us and less on other people,” Choctaw County coach Lance Thomas said. “We will be working a lot the next few days to get our hitting back on track.”
Starkville now prepares for the postseason against the winner of OxfordSouth Panola Friday, while Choctaw County has the first round playoff bye in Class 3A.