By Angie Ledbetter

The South Panola Lady Tiger’s fastpitch team upset the No. 4-ranked Southaven Lady Chargers 3-2 Friday.

The Lady Tigers (3-3) went into the top of the seventh down 2-0.

Junior center fielder Christa Brown started the rally for the Lady Tigers with a single to right. While pitcher Tory Helton was at bat, Brown stole second then third.

Lauren Calvert singled to right, scoring Brown for the first run for the Lady Tigers.

Caroline Dickins singled to left advancing Calvert to second. On a groundout to second, Browning picked up the second out, but advanced Calvert to third and Dickins to second.

With two outs, Meri Morgan Fortune on a 2-2 pitch, singled to right scoring Calvert and Dickins for the 3-2 advantage.

The defense of the Lady Tigers stood strong in the bottom of the seventh to stop the Southaven comeback.

Southaven did single with one out and made it to second. Center fielder Brown sealed Southaven’s fate, when she threw the ball to third to get the runner out for the final out and preserved the win.

Tiger’s sophomore pitcher Tori Helton pitched the complete game in seven innings fanning eight Lady Chargers and picking up the win. The Tigers had five hits, three errors and left two on base. The Lady Chargers picked up nine hits, left eight stranded.

The Lady Tigers were down 1-0 at the end of the first.

Southaven scored its second run in the bottom of the third on a single RBI (run batted in).

On the road for two hours, the Lady Tigers traveled to Columbus on Tuesday taking on the back-to-back division 4-4A fastpitch district champions, the New Hope Lady Trojans. The Lady Tigers fell short 4-0.  

The Lady Tigers had seven hits, five errors and left 12 on base. The bases were loaded twice with one out but the Lady Tigers did not capitalize. Getting hits were Brown with a single, double and triple. Fortune had two singles; Lindsey Calvert, one single and Amanda Ivy, a triple.

The Lady Trojans had four hits, one error and left three on base.

Lady Tiger head coach Ashleigh Hicks was disappointed in the outcome of the New Hope game.

“We came out flat but I also think we learned from that game,” she said. “They learned they can’t come out flat and have to be ready. They even said once we put our uniforms on we’ve got to have a different face.

“Then tonight for them to get behind 2-0 and come back and win, that’s amazing,” Hicks continued. “That’s something that coaches strive to be a part of, a team that does not put their heads down. If you were at this game you saw that the dugout was tremendous. Even when we were down 2-0 they were fighting with everything they had in the dugout. They could’ve easily given up but I kept telling them in the huddle not to give up and keep their heads up. As we learned our first game, it’s not over until the last out.”

Jr. Varsity

The South Panola Lady Tiger’s junior varsity fastpitch team split games with New Hope and Southaven. They fell to New Hope 3-2 for their first loss of the season last Thursday and defeated Southaven 4-3 Friday.

In the game with New Hope, the Lady Tigers scored two runs in the top of the first. Scoring runs were Taylor Browning and Crystal Contreras who both doubled. They had three hits and left one on base.

On the mound for the Lady Tigers was Diamond Browning.  

The Lady Chargers rallied together scoring three runs in the bottom of the frame taking a 3-2 lead. They had four hits and left one on base.

In the top of the third, the Lady Tigers scored two runs taking a 4-3 lead over the Lady Chargers for the win. Scoring were Morgan Aldison and Taylor Browning.

Both teams had four hits. The Lady Tigers left one on base and the Lady Chargers left three.

Upcoming schedule

 Wednesday, the Jr. Varsity Lady Tigers will host Arlington, Tenn. at 1:30 p.m. in the teams’ first home game of the season.

Following that game, the varsity will host Lafayette County at 2:30 p.m.

This weekend the Lady Tigers will play in the Clarkdale Tournament, near Meridian. Friday, they will face Neshoba Central on Field 4 at 5 p.m. and Harrison Central on Field 3 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 19, they will play New Hope on Field 1 at 11:30 a.m. and Northwest Rankin on Field 2 at 2:30 p.m.