The Newton County Lady Cougars set up a match of slow-pitch juggernauts with a pair of sweeps this past week.
The Lady Cougars hammered Grenada 15-0 in both games and then beat Choctaw Central 8-5 and 12-2 to advance to the Class II North State series against Neshoba Central.
Newton County improves to 31-2 on the season and will face the Lady Rockets on Tuesday for a spot on the large-school championship series on Saturday at Freedom Ridge Park in Madison. Both of Newton County’s losses have come to Neshoba this season.
As of press time Tuesday, a decision had not been made whether the series was postponed due to inclement weather. If it was postponed, the games will be played today.
County 12, Choctaw Central 3
Newton County finished off the two-game sweep of the Lady Warriors with a nine-run win on Saturday.
Choctaw scored three in the third while Newton County scored two in the second, fourth and seventh while adding five in the third and one in the fifth.
Newton County outhit Choctaw 12-7. Jada McDougle was 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and four RBIs while Katelyn Gipson was 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Haley McDowell was 2-for-3 with two RBIs while Lizzy Hollingsworth was 2-for-5. Lorren Ivey and Lanie Phillips each singled and scored twice.
Natalie Lampton pitched all seven innings, scattering eight hits and giving up three runs.
County 8, Choctaw Central 5
The Lady Cougars used a five-run third inning and held on to take a three-run win over the Lady Warriors on Saturday in the first game of the series.
With the score tied 1-1 at the end of two innings, Choctaw scored three in the top of the third. But Newton County answered with five in the bottom of the third and added one in the fifth and sixth to take the win.
County outhit Choctaw 12-9 as Katelyn Gipson was 3-for-3 with a home run, two run scored and two RBIs. Lizzy Hollingsworth was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored while Jada McDougle was 2-for-4. Lorren Ivey had a home run and four RBIs while Lanie Phillips scored twice.
County 15, Grenada 0
In the second game of the series, the Lady Cougars needed just three innings to beat the Lady Chargers on Tuesday.
County scored four in the first, three in the second and eight in the third. Lorren Ivey was 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs while Lizzy Hollingsworth was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and four RBIs. Maeli Ben was 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs while Haley McDowell was 2-for-2. Katelyn Gipson was 2-for-2 with a double, home run, two runs scored and three RBIs.
County 15, Grenada 0
The Lady Cougars scored 13 runs in the first inning and cruised to a three-inning win over the Lady Chargers on Tuesday.
County added two in the second to finish out their scoring.
County had 12 hits, led by Jada McDougle who was 2-for-2 with a grand slam, three runs scored and four RBIs. Lizzy Hollingsworth was 2-for-2 with a double and three runs scored while Casey Dube was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Lanie Phillips doubled and drove in two runs while Haley McDowell also had two RBIs. Katelyn Gipson homered, walked twice, scored twice and had two RBIs.
