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Lady Tide Swept from Playoffs

By Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post

VICKSBURG - All season long, the top of Warren Central's lineup has carried the team. On Saturday,

when it mattered most, the bottom half did its share. The Lady Vikes Nos. 6-9 hitters each had four hits,

scored five runs and drove in four in a doubleheader sweep of Picayune in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.

Andi Hearn had an RBI single and Anna Miller scored both of WC's runs in a 2-1 victory in Game 1. In Game 2,

No. 9 hitter Bridget Dillon blew the game open with a key two-run single, and Anna Jones added an RBI single

and scored two runs as the Lady Vikes advanced to the second round with a 9-1 win.

WC will host either Ocean Springs or Long Beach in the second round on Thursday. Game 1 will be at WC, and

Games 2 and 3 will be on the coast on Saturday.

"It seems like the entire season, the top of our order has carried us. Luckily today, since they were not on top of

their game offensively, our middle to the bottom came through," WC coach Lucy Young said. "Some people that

got hits and got errors that turned into big plays, that kept us alive."

WC has struggled at the plate all season long, yet won games with savvy baserunning and strong pitching.

Saturday was no exception. Lauren Anderson had 13 strikeouts and allowed four hits in Game 1. She walked

none and didn't allow a run until the seventh, when Amanda Feeley tripled and scored on a groundout. By that

time, the Lady Vikes had scored a pair of unearned runs.

WC only had two hits in the game, but Miller reached twice on errors and scored both times. In the second inning,

Tiffany Fuller brought her home with a single. Hearn did the same in the fourth to make it 2-0.

"The first game was almost a reflection of Thursday night," Young said, referring to a 1-0 victory over Terry in which

the Lady Vikes did not get a hit. "But I was real pleased that we came back in that second game and was able to

get some hits and get some people on base. They're a good pitching team, but we were able to locate those pitches."

The Lady Vikes didn't get a hit in Game 2 until the fourth inning, but took advantage of a defensive meltdown by

Picayune (19-10) to jump to a 4-0 lead after two innings.

The Lady Tide committed seven errors in the game, leading to six unearned runs for WC. Two miscues in the

fifth inning helped the Lady Vikes blow the game open.

After Mandy Fuller led off with a single, Cookie Johnson and Anderson both reached on errors. Picayune pitcher

Kasey Mitchell retired the next two batters, but hit Jones with a pitch and allowed a two-run single to Dillon to make

it 8-1.

"Obviously, the errors did us in in the first game and the second game," said Picayune coach Kristi Mitchell, whose

team committed 10 errors in the doubleheader. "We just couldn't seem to overcome and couldn't seem to get our

bats going. Typically, we're a very sound defensive team and I guess at some point it's got to catch up with you, and

I think it caught up with us today."

Tiffany Fuller finished the inning with an RBI single to stretch the lead to 9-1, and Picayune never threatened again.

WC pitcher Brittany Fuller fanned nine of the last 11 batters she faced and finished with 11 strikeouts. She walked

one, scattered five hits and pitched out of her only jam in the second inning.

After Kristin Fleming brought in Picayune's lone run with an RBI fielder's choice to make it 4-1, Fuller bore down and

struck out the last two batters to end the inning.

"We scratched out, and we got some runners on ... and we couldn't produce with our bats to get them around," Kristi

Mitchell said. "So you have to give Warren Central credit. Their pitchers did an excellent job and shut us down."

Photos courtesy of John Young