The Newton County baseball team won two out of three games last week, including a big division sweep over Northeast Lauderdale.
The Lady Cougars softball team didn’t fare as well, dropping two games to Choctaw Central and one to Clinton.
On the tennis courts, Newton County dominated the Division 5-4A Tournament, winning all five spots.
County baseball
The Cougars won two out of three games last week, including a pair of wins over Northeast Lauderdale in division play.
On Tuesday, County took a 16-1 win as they banged out 10 hits and drew nine walks. County scored three in the first, two in second, six in the third and five in the fourth. County outhit Northeast 10-2 as Landry Tolbird was 2-for-2 with three RBIs while Collier Mangum was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Camden Thoms and Hayden Amis each singled and had two RBIs while Cooper Johnson singled and scored four runs while Vance Johnson singled and scored three runs. Ethan Burton started on the mound and pitched all four innings to pick up the win, giving up one run on two hits and two walks while striking out nine.
The Cougars got a walk-off double from Hayden Amis to take a 2-1 win over Northeast Lauderdale on Friday. County scored one in the first while Northeast tied the game in the third before Amis’ walkoff hit in the bottom of the seventh. Cooper Johnson hit a solo home run to start the game in the first and scored two runs while Landon Huber was 2-for-3. Huber started on the mound and got only one out while walking three. Braxton Dean pitched the next 4 2/3 innings and gave up one run on four hits while striking out seven. Brady Bounds pitched the last two innings and walked two while striking out three to get the win.
Softball
The Lady Cougars hit a rough patch as they dropped three games last week, including a pair of division games to Choctaw Central an a non-division contest to Clinton.
On Tuesday, the Lady Cougars outhit Choctaw Central but still fell 4-1. Choctaw scored one in the first and fifth and finished with two in the sixth while County scored its lone run in the fifth. County outhit Choctaw 10-8, led by Shae Jimmie who was 2-for-4 with a double. Adilyn Vaughn was 2-for-4 while Lexi Stevens was 2-for-3. Lexi Addy pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on eight hits and five walks while Lexi Stevens came in and got the last out.
On Thursday, it took extra innings for Choctaw to take a 6-5 win to sweep the series. Choctaw scored three in the first but County responded by scoring one in the second, two in the third and one in the fourth. County tied the game with one in the fifth and sent the game into extra innings. Choctaw scored two in the top of the eighth while County scored one in the bottom of the frame and left the bases loaded. Each team had nine hits as Lexi Addy was 2-for-3 with a double and a triple. Shae Jimmie, Mary Preston Williams and Lexi Stevens each had two hits apiece as well. Jimmie started in the circle and pitched seven innings and gave up five runs on eight hits and four walks to strike out four and took the loss. Addy came in and pitched the last inning.
The Lady Cougars fell short on the road, falling 4-0 to Clinton on Saturday. Clinton scored two in the first and added single runs in the third and sixth innings. County had just one hit, a single by Shae Jimmie. Lexi Addy started and pitched one inning, giving up two unearned runs while Jimmie pitched an inning and walked three. Lexi Stevens pitched two innings and gave up one run on four hits while Landry Brunson gave up one run on two three hits.
Tennis
Newton County swept the Division 5-4A Tournament, winning all five positions.
In boys singles, Braden Estes beat Northeast Lauderdale 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals and then beat West Lauderdale 6-1, 4-6, 10-4 in the finals.
In girls singles, Alissa Luke beat Northeast Lauderdale 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals and then beat West Lauderdale 6-1, 6-0 in the finals.
In boys doubles, Drew Walker and Hayes Holliman beat Leake Central 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and then beat West Lauderdale 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Seth Gibson and Caden Chaney, County’s No. 2 team, beat Leake Central 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and then beat West Lauderdale 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinals. Walker and Holliman will advance as the No. 1out of the division while Gibson and Chaney advance as the No. 2 seed.
In girls doubles, Katie Lynn McDonald and Reese Thoms, County’s No. 1 team, beat Leake Central 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and then beat West Lauderdale 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals. County’s No. 2 squad, Ellie Russell and Erin Tullos beat Northeast Lauderdale 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and then beat West Lauderdale 6-4, 2-6, 10-5 in the semifinals. McDonald and Thoms advance as the No. 1 seed out of division play while Russell and Tullos advance as the No. 2 seed.
In mixed doubles, Keaton Gray and Samantha Boykin beat Leake Central 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinals and then beat West Lauderdale 6-1, 6-0 in the finals.
All of County’s team qualifies for the Class 4A state tournament in Oxford on April 15th and 16th.
