By Brad Greer
Experience can often play a key role in team sports. It can also be the difference between winning and losing. Case in point being the second round matchup of the North 6A playoff series between South Panola and top-ranked Madison Central.

Having beaten the Lady Jaguars 2-1 in eight innings Friday at Madison, South Panola found themselves one victory away from advancing to the North State championship series at home Saturday but could not seal the deal as Madison Central rallied to take the next two games 9-0 and 5-1 thus ending an outstanding season for South Panola.

Madison Central (26-3) will now square off against Hernando for the right to play in the State 6A championship series May 15-16th.

Madison Central-9
South Panola-0 (game two)
Clinging to a 1-0 lead, the Lady Jaguars exploded for eight runs in the fifth inning. Haylee Morse and Nicole Bergeron keyed the inning with a pair of two-run doubles to blow the game open. Brianna Dollar and Mary Blair Oden each added run-scoring singles as the visitors sent 13 batters to the plate during the frame.

Madison Central took a 1-0 lead in top of the first as Oden blasted a one-out double off South Panola starting pitcher Nicole Fullilove to chase home Emily Turner who had earlier singled.
South Panola definitely had their chances to put runs to the board as they  threaten in the third inning when Taylor Utz and Chloe Morgan singled with two outs but was stranded as Morse, a Jones Junior College signee, wiggled out of trouble.

One inning later, Morse plunked Tiger second baseman Haley Reid with a pitch before Sydney Morgan hit a lazer bound for the outfield gap that Morse snared and threw to first to double up Reid to end the inning.

South Panola (19-7) registered three hits in the game as Chloe Morgan registered two singles. Fullilove picked up the loss allowing nine runs on seven hits while fanning three batters in 4.2 innings before being lifted for Darbi Smith who tossed the final 2.1 innings in relief. She surrendered four hits and hit a batter.

Madison Central-5
South Panola-1
Missed opportunities hurt South Panola in the third and deciding game as the Tigers left eight runners on base including the bases full in the fourth inning after pulling within 3-1.

The Lady Jags jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third as Kristen Qualls and Odom delivered back-to-back singles with two outs in the frame. South Panola answered in the fourth as Reid was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and later scored on an Ali Cummings RBI single with one out. Following a strikeout for out number two, Makenzie Crutcher and Amber Helmes delivered sharp singles to load the bases but Morse came in relief of starting pitcher Alexie Harmon to record the final out.

Helmes paced South Panola at the plate with two singles while Morgan Parker and Chloe Morgan added singles. The Lady Jaguars added single runs in the sixth and seventh inning for the final margin of victory.

“I told the ladies after the game that experience played a key factor in the series. They (Madison Central) have nine seniors, seven of which are starting and we have two. We really felt good  after winning game one down there Friday and then coming back to our place with a chance to close it out by winning one game. But Madison Central knew what they had to do because they have been in big games like this before and we have not,” said Lady Tiger head coach Ashleigh Hicks

“We will learn from this and hopefully the next time we get back in this spot we can remember how this felt. I hate for our two seniors that it ended like this. Makenzie (Crutcher) has worked very hard to become a starter for us in the outfield  and there is really not a whole lot you can say about Nicole that has not been said. She has been the face of South Panola softball since her freshman season and has worked extremely hard to get where she is at. She is going to do a great job at Central Arkansas and whatever she sets her mind to do after her playing days are over she will achieve  her goals,“ said Hicks.