To win at this point of the season, teams have to get solid pitching from their senior leaders.
The Newton County Cougars are getting just that. After losing Game 1 against East Central on Tuesday, the Lady Cougars got solid pitching performances from Shelby Anderson and Brittany Thomas to win series over East Central and Purvis last week.
After losing 2-1 to East Central on Tuesday, the Lady Cougars beat the Lady Hornets 10-0 and 8-3 on Wednesday to take the series. The Lady Cougars dominated Purvis, winning 4-0 and 5-1 to sweep the series.
County improves to 25-6 on the season and advances to the Class 4A South State championship series. County will face the winner of the West Lauderdale and Vancleave series
County 5, Purvis 1
The Lady Cougars broke open a close game with three runs in the fifth inning to take a four-run win over the Lady Tornadoes on Saturday to complete the series sweep.
Each team scored one run in the third inning and County took the lead with one run in the fourth. County finished off their scoring with three runs in the fifth inning.
County outhit Purvis 9-5 in the contest. Lizzy Hollingsworth was 3-for-3 with two stolen bases to lead the Lady Cougars at the plate while Landree Amis was 2-for-4 with a double. Alex Weir was 2-for-4 while Lorren Ivey scored two runs.
Brittany Thomas delivered a dominant pitching performance, going all seven innings as she scattered five hits and three walks while striking out five.
County 4, Purvis 0
The Lady Cougars scored two runs in the first inning and rode a dominant pitching performance from Shelby Anderson to shut out the Lady Tornadoes.
After scoring two runs in the first. County added single runs in the third and fourth innings.
Each team had three hits while Karyle Tolbird was 2-for-2 with a double and one RBI. Lizzy Hollingsworth had a double and drove in two runs that scored Landree Amis and Katelyn Gipson.
Anderson gave up just three hits and struck out 14.
County 8, East Central 3
The Lady Cougars broke open a tie game with a pair of big innings to take the series from the Lady Hornets on Wednesday.
County led 3-1 after the first but East Central tied it up with two in the third. County then scored three in the fourth and two in the sixth to take the win.
County outhit East Central 12-10 in the contest, including nine by the top four batters in the lineup. Shelby Anderson was 3-for-4 while Brittany Thomas was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIS. Katelyn Gipson and Shelby Anderson were each 2-for-4 and scored two runs while Lorren Ivey was 2-for-3. Lanie Phillips singled and drove in two runs while Lizzy Hollingsworth had three RBIs.
Anderson started in the circle for County, going all seven innings as she gave up three runs on 10 hits and three walks while striking out four.
County 10, East Central 0
The Lady Cougars used a trio of big innings to take a run-rule win over the Lady Hornets in the first game of the day on Wednesday.
County scored four runs in the third and added three in the fourth and sixth innings.
County outhit East Central 13-3 in the contest. Katelyn Gipson was 3-for-4 with two runs scored while Landree His was 2-for-3 with an inside-the-park home run, two runs scored and three RBIs. Brittany Thomas was 2-for-4 with two RBIs while Lorren Ivey was 2-for-3 with two runs scored Lizzy Hollingsworth was 2-for-4 with a double while Shelby Anderson doubled and drove in two runs. Alex Weir also scored two runs.
Thomas pitched all six innings for County and gave up three hits and one walk while striking out one.
East Central 2, County 1
The Lady Hornets took the first game of the series on Tuesday with a one-run win.
East Central scored one in the first and took the win with one in the fourth. County scored its only run in the third.
County had six hits, led by Shelby Anderson who was 3-for-3. Landree Amis scored County’s only run with a solo home run while Karlye Tolbird had a double.
Shelby Anderson pitched all six innings for County, giving up two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out six.
