The Newton County baseball team will be playing for another week after taking two wins in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
The Cougars beat Ripley 8-2 and 19-4 to advance to the second round.
Meanwhile, the Newton County softball team saw its season come to an end, falling to Tishomingo County in a pair of 4-1 games while taking an 11-4 win in game 2.
The Cougars will now face Kosciusko in second-round action this week. Game 1 is set for Friday at Kosciusko and will return to Decatur on Saturday. The if-necessary game would Monday at Kosciusko.
Baseball
The Cougars finished the regular season with a 13-0 loss to Clinton but bounced back with a pair of convincing wins in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs, beating Ripley 8-2 and 19-4.
On Tuesday, County ended the regular season with a 13-0 loss to Clinton. Lake had just three hits, singles by Vance Richardson, Camden Thoms and Ethan Burton. Six pitchers threw for the Cougars in the contest.
County opened the Class 4A playoffs with an 8-2 win over Ripley. County scored four in the first and fifth innings to take the win. The Cougars had nine hits as Camden Thoms was 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored while Caleb Potter was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Collier Mangum was 2-for-3 with two runs scored while Landry Tolbird singled and driven two runs. Ethan Bruton started on the mound and pitched five innings to get the win, giving up one run on three hits while striking out nine.
The Cougars finished off Ripley with a 19-4 win on Saturday to sweep the series. County scored 11 runs in the first and added four runs in the third and fifth innings. County had 19 hits in the contest as Cooper Johnson was 4-for-5 with a double, four runs scored and three RBIs. Camden Thoms was 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs while Vance Richardson was 3-for-4 and scored three runs. Hayden Amis was also 3-for-4 with a double while Grant Keith was 2-for-3 and scored two runs. Landry Tolbird singled and had three RBIs while Collier Mangum also had two RBIs. Landon Huber started on the mound and only got two outs as he gave up four unearned runs on two hits and two walks while Hayden Townsend pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up one hit while striking out three to get the win.
Softball
The Lady Cougars saw their season come to an end in the first round of the Class 4A tournament, losing to Tishomingo County in a pair of 4-1 games.
Newton County shortstop Shae Jimmie guns down a runner at the plate. Jeff Parks Photography
The Lady Cougars finished out the regular season on Monday with an 11-2 win over Southeast Lauderdale as they celebrated the 500th career win over head coach Justin Chaney. County scored one in the first and third, two in the second and fifth and five in the fourth. County had nine hits, led by Hannah Chaney wo was 2-for-3 with a hoe run and two runs scored. Shae Jimmie also homered and had two RBIs while Kolbie Wansley and Lexi Stevens each doubled. Adilyn Vaughn also singled and had three RBIs while Hadley Amis singled and had two RBIs. Stevens pitched all seven innings and gave up two runs on six hits and three walks.
County opened the Class 4A playoffs with a 4-1 loss to Tishomingo County. The Lady Braves scored tow in the third and fifth innings and outhit County 4-3. Hannah Chaney doubled and had an RBI while Shae Jimmie singled and scored. Gracey Wood also singled for County. Jimmie pitched all six innings for County and gave up four runs on four hits and four walks.
The Lady Cougars forced a game 3 on Saturday as they took an 11-4 win in Decatur. County scored one in the first and fourth, four in the third, two in the fifth and three in the sixth. County had 13 hits and took advantage of five errors. Mary Preston Williams was 3-for-4 with three runs scored while Gracey Wood was 3-for-4 with a double. Lexi Addy homered and had four RBIs while Kolby Wansley homered and had two RBIs. Hannah Chaney was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored while Adilyn Vaughn also doubled and had two RBIs. Addy pitched all seven innings to get the win, giving up four runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out four.
The Lady Cougars say their season come to an end on Saturday as they lost 4-1 and only had one hit, a single by Hayden Amis. Lexi Addy walked twice and scored County’s only run. Shae Jimmie pitched all seven innings and gave up four runs with only one earned on eight hits and a walk.
