The Newton County Lady Cougars began defense of their state championship last week by splitting a pair of games in the Newton County Classic.
The Lady Cougars opened the season with a 12-2 win over Clarkdale before dropping a 7-6 decision to Neshoba Central.
Newton County will return to play on Monday at home against Choctaw Central and Tuesday against Clarkdale. On Thursday, the Lady Cougars will go to Neshoba Central for a rematch and will play two games at Northwest Rankin on Saturday.
County 12, Clarkdale 2
The Lady Cougars banged out 16 hits and were error-free on defense in a 10-run win over Clarkdale on Saturday.
County scored early and often with three runs in the first and second innings while adding four in the third to go up 10-0. Clarkdale scored two in the fourth and County added two more runs in the sixth.
Newton County had 16 hits, led by Shelby Anderson who was 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBIs. Lorren Ivey was 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs. Brittany Thomas was also 3-for-4 with a double and scored two runs. Lizzy Hollingsworth also drove in two runs. Landree Amis also had a double for the Lady Cougars.
Katelyn Gipson pitched four scoreless innings and gave up just three hits. Haley McDowell pitched two innings and gave up seven hits and two earned runs.
Neshoba Central 7, County 6
The Lady Cougars outhit Neshoba 12-9 but dropped a one-run contest in a battle of defending state champions on Saturday.
Newton County led 2-1 at the end of the first inning before Neshoba scored three in the fourth to go up 4-2. The Lady Rockets added three more runs in the top of the fifth to go up 7-2. The Lady Cougars added three runs in the bottom of the fifth and one in the sixth but couldn’t finish off the comeback.
Newton County had 12 hits as Lorren Ivey was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Katelyn Gipson and Brittany Thomas were each 2-for-4 and scored a run while Haley McDowell was 2-for-3 while Landree Amis had two RBIs. Katelyn Gipson also had a double.
Gipson pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up seven runs on nine hits but walked eight batters. McDowell pitched the final 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
