Near perfect mound performance cripples WCCA
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, September 11, 2007
WOODVILLE — Franklin Academy pitcher Katy Little’s attempt at a perfect game was broken up in the bottom of the fifth inning, but she wound up with seven strikeouts as the Lady Cougars defeated the WCCA Lady Rams 8-3 Monday night.
With the win, Franklin Academy finished 2-0 in MPSA Sub-District 6-A and will be the No. 1 seed from its part of District 6-A in the district tournament this Saturday. WCCA, 10-16 overall and 0-2 in sub-district play, will be the No. 2 seed.
WCCA head coach Ray Olive said the District 6-A Tournament will probably take place at Claiborne Academy, but that won’t be determined until the coaches’ meeting at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Ruston, La.
As for the game itself, WCCA hit the ball hard but the defense behind Little made one good play after another to keep the perfect game going. However, an error in the bottom of the fifth put that to an end.
“Their pitcher’s a good pitcher,” Olive said. “We couldn’t get a hit until the sixth inning.”
The Lady Cougars, on the other hand, took advantage of numerous miscues by the Lady Rams in the first two innings to take a commanding 6-0 lead – more than enough run support for Little.
“We made three errors in the first inning that gave them their first run,” Olive said. “We made six of our eight errors in the first two innings that spotted the six runs.”
Franklin Academy would not score again until the top of the sixth inning when it scored two runs to increase its lead to 8-0. But WCCA got on the board with three runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Taylor Littleton led off with a single, the Lady Rams’ first hit of the game, Sam Pace reached on an error and Bethany Fletcher hit a single. Crystal Jackson then reached on an error to bring in Littleton.
Heather Stutzman flied to centerfield for the first out and Pace, trying to score from third base, was thrown out at home plate for the second out. Abby McDuff then singled to bring in Fletcher and Jackson, but McDuff was stranded at first.
“It just took a little while to get going,” Olive said. “My girls battled this weekend (at the Centreville Round Robin Tournament) and they battled tonight. I was proud of our girls for the fight they had in them.”