East Coweta sweeps doubleheader from Cherokee

Shown in an at bat from a previous game, EC catcher Reba Jones delivered the go ahead in the top of the sixth inning of the second game of the Lady Indians' doubleheader with Cherokee.

KENNESAW-Reba Jones had two hits and three RBIs including the lead run in the sixth inning Thursday as the East Coweta Lady Indians defeated the Cherokee County Lady Warriors 6-1 in the second game of a doubleheader at Kennesaw State University.
The win improved the Lady Indians’ overall record to 17-6 and gave them a sweep as they defeated the 10-2 in a five inning game as Hailey Baswell went 3-for-3 at the plate.
The benefactor in both wins was pitcher Morgan Goree who allowed nine hits and three runs in two games while recording nine strikeouts.
In the nightcap, the Lady Indians broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third inning as Kia Smith reached on a one out single and moved to second on an infield error then came home on a two out single by Katey Lynch.
The Lady Warriors tied the game in the bottom of the inning with an unearned run and the game remained tied until the top of the sixth inning when the Lady Indians scored three times to reclaim the lead.
Lynch lined a double to left to lead off the frame and Shemiah Sanchez followed with a single that moved pinch runner Madison Carter to third for Jones who gave the Lady Indians a 3-1 lead as she lined a double to center that brought both plate ward.
On the play, Jones was awarded third due to defensive interference and Jamie Vitale was sent into the game as a courtesy runner.
A wild pitch allowed Vitale to score and EC enjoyed a 4-1 lead as well as a a chance to add to the lead as Maggie Morrow walked and Hailey Baswell reached on an error by the infield.
However, the last two Lady Indian batters were retired and the inning ended with a 4-1 advantage remained.
The Lady Warriors threatened to cut into the lead as Goree allowed a leadoff single and a batter reached first on an infield error that allowed both to advance into scoring position.
However, three straight plays at the plate nullified the Cherokee rally and kept the EC lead intact.
In the top of the seventh inning, the Lady Indians added to the lead as Carter reached on a double to center field and scored on a two out double by Jones.
Vitale came into the game as a courtesy runnner for Jones and came home on with the final run of the game on a single by Lauren Liebe.
Goree was able to get through the bottom of the frame as she retired the first batter on a groundout and recorded a double play after surrendering a walk.
The opening game came a little easier for East Coweta as they spotted a run in the top of the first to Cherokee before scoring four of their own in the bottom of the frame.
Smith was hit by a pitch, stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice by Mekhia Freeman and Lynch followed by reaching first when she was hit by a pitch.
Lynch stole second and after Jones reached on a walk, Carter came in as a courtesy runner and Liebe put the Lady Indians on the board with a two-run single.
Carter and Liebe, who advanced to second on the throw from the outfield scored the other two runs in the frame as Morrow lined a single to left field.
After the Lady Warriors scored a run in the top of the third inning, the Lady Indians got the run back in the bottom of the frame as LuLu Warren came home from third on a single by Baswell and added a run in the fourth as Lynch scored on a sacrifice bunt by Jones.
Any doubt about the outcome was eliminated in the bottom of the fifth inning as the Lady Indians scored four runs to win the game on the mercy rule.
Warren doubled to lead off the inning, advanced to third on a single by Baswell and scored on a single by Gracelynn Newmon.
Baswell scored on a single by Smith that also moved Newmon into scoring position for Freeman who delivered when she grounded out to the pitcher.
Smith, who found herself in scoring position on the groundout and a steal, scored the final run when Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly to end the game.

Lady Cougars JV score run in fourth inning to spoil undefeated bid of EC

Katelin Richardson scored from third base in the bottom of the fourth inning on a groundout Thursday for the Newnan Lady Cougars who thwarted an undefeated softball season for the East Coweta Lady Indians after a 3-2 victory in a junior varsity matchup between the rivals.
The game was tied 2-2 when Richardson was hit by a pitch from EC starter Rachel Vaughns to start the inning then stole second base before moving to third on a sacrifice bunt by KT Heggood and eventually coming home when Frances Arnall grounded out to shortstop Jamie Vitale.


Newnan JV pitcher Addie Andrews scattered seven hits in the win over East Coweta. 

 Richardson’s run was only the second earned run allowed by Vaughns this season.
The Lady Indians, who came into the game with a 12-0 record, tried to tie the game in the top of the fifth inning as Jessica Barber and Star Jones led off with singles off Lady Cougars starter Addie Andrews.
A sacrifice bunt by Madison Carter advanced pinch runner Sheyenne Bell and Alyson Gunter into scoring position and Vitale reached first on a walk to load the bases for Watson.
The Lady Indians thought they had tied the game at 3-3 when Watson hit what appeared to hit a sacrifice fly to left with Bell scoring and Gunter moving to third.


East Coweta JV hurler Rachel Vaughns allowed two hits and recorded five strikouts in the 3-2 loss to Newnan.

However, the umpires met and ruled that Bell had left third early which nullified the run and ended the inning.
Andrews was in control in the final frames as she retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh innings to complete an afternoon in which she allowed seven hits.
The Lady Indians took the initial lead of the game in the top of the first inning as Vitale singled, stole second and moved to third on a single by Emily Watson before coming home on the front end of an attempted double steal. Vitale crossed home plate but the throw from catcher Darby Keene to second was true and Watson was tagged out.
The Lady Cougars took the lead in the bottom of the second inning courtesy of miscues in the field by the Lady Indians as Richardson reached first on an infield error and with one out Arnall reached on an infield error.
Both runners came home when Jemeiah Berry laced a triple to right center field which was only the second hit allowed in the game by Vaughns who recorded five strikeouts in the game. The Lady Indians tied the game at 2-2 after one out in the top of the third inning when Carter reached on an infield single and stole two bases before coming home as Vitale grounded out to third.
In the top of the fourth inning, the Lady Indians threatened to take the lead as Qortni Ware singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Vaughns but was tagged out at third after a single by LuLu Warren and the frame ended as Bianca DeJesus grounded out.



 

Blowout the word for Northgate, Newnan and EC in softball wins

On Monday, a post was placed in Facebook was posted by the Northgate Lady Vikings page encouraging players to get their homework done, call it an early night and be ready to play Tuesday.
While it is unknown if the homework was done, but the Lady Vikings managed to be well rested Tuesday evening as they had no trouble with the Whitewater Lady Wildcats in a 12-0 Region 3-AAAAA victory that clinched top seed for the upcoming tournament.
The Lady Vikings (12-2, 7-0) did a lot of damage in the bottom of the second inning as Ebonee Echols led off with a single, stole second and went to third on a bunt single by Jordan Hamilton before coming home on a one out bunt single by MacKenzie McCloud who advanced to second on a throw into the infield.
After a strikeout, Brenna Skalski singled Hamilton home with the second run of the inning while McCloud went to third. Which allowed Skalski to move to second when the throw came in.
Northgate took a 4-0 lead as Carly Alderman singled McCloud and Skalski home and Jenna Pealor finished the scoring with a two-run home run that also forced a pitching change by Whitewater.
The Lady Vikings were not done scoring as Echols and Hamilton singled and Jessica Houk followed with a groundout to first that brought Echols home from third while Hamilton moved to third before she came home on a passed ball.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Northgate added to the lead after making wholesale substitutions who contributed to the attack.
Pealor and Reagan Kinsch reached on consecutive one-out singles and both came home on a triple by Jessica Cochran who would score on a single by Lauren DeLoach.
Rachel Cook reached on a walk and after a force play retired DeLoach at third, would score on an error by the Whitewater catcher that ended the game.
Benefiting from the rest and run support was Northgate starting pitcher McKenzie Peace who allowed three hits, walked two and recorded five strikeouts in four innings.
The term blowout seemed to be the word of the afternoon Tuesday for all three Coweta schools as East Coweta and Newnan clinched the top seeds for the upcoming Region 3-AAAAAA tournament with easy wins.
The Newnan Lady Cougars clinched the top spot for the tournament with a 20-5 win at home over the Langston Hughes Lady Panthers while the East Coweta Lady Indians clinched the number two spot with a 17-0 three-inning win and for good measure won a non-region second game by the same score.
In the Lady Cougars win, a nine-run first inning paced the victory then five in the bottom of the second and six in the final inning.
Colton and Stewart each had three hits while Leslie Davis had two.
Shania Colton had a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning while Lindsey Stewart hit a grand slam to key the scoring in the frame.
Colton led the Lady Cougars with five RBIs, Stewart, Davis and Lauren Ferguson each had four and Frances Arnall had one.
Emily Allen pitched the first two innings of the game for the Lady Cougars and recorded three strikeouts while Courtney Darrow and Colton hurled in the top of third when the Lady Panthers scored all of their runs
The win improved the Lady Cougars overall mark to 12-4.
In the Lady Indians’ initial win at Douglasville, four runs in first and second innings and a nine-run third did the damage as well as the long ball as Katey Lynch, Maggie Morrow and Reba Jones each had a home run.
Pitching also made the opener finish sooner as Morgan Goree retired all nine batters she faced with six going down by strikeout.
Lynch had three hits and five RBIs in the game while Hailey Baswell and Morrow each finished with a pair of hits.
In the nightcap which didn‘t count in the region standings, the Lady Indians scored 10 runs in the second inning and seven in the third inning.
Gabby Freed had three hits and three RBIs including a home run while Madison Carter had two hits and scored three runs.
Kaylin Wall and Kayla Vincent combined on the shutout recording four strikeouts.
The Lady Indians improve to 11-4 on the season.
All three teams will be busy this week as they compete in the Brookwood Invitational Tournament which is spread out through Gwinnett County.
East Coweta will face Peachtree Ridge at Brookwood tonight while Newnan will play two games Friday night at Lanier High School and three at North Gwinnett.
Northgate will play twice on Friday at South Gwinnett before playing three games (at Archer High School) on Saturday.

 

Newnan defeats mistake prone Troup Tigers at home

To date the Newnan Cougars have had a 2013 football season that has given the faithful a roller coaster feeling or being a chocolate in Forrest Gump‘s candy box.
After a 52-21 loss to Marietta on August 30, Newnan defeated LaGrange 42-20 on September 6 before dropping a 55-21 decision to highly regarded Sandy Creek last week in Tyrone.
Friday night, the Cougars dominated most of the game even though they only won by a 17-7 margin over the Troup Tigers in Drake Stadium as they evened the record to 2-2 on the season.
The Tigers, who dropped a decision to Callaway last week on turnovers fell to 1-2 on the season.
After the Cougars failed on their first offensive series of the game, the Tigers took over and had some success moving the ball until with 6:33 remaining in the first quarter.
Newnan took over at their 42 and also had success moving the ball behind the running of J.K Britt who carried the ball on four of the first five plays of the series.
The Cougars moved the ball to the Tigers one yard line with a first and goal but were unable to score a touchdown as Britt was stopped twice for negative yards and a pass from quarterback Bailey Bryant was incomplete.
Newnan managed to come away with points as Conner Cox converted a 21-yard field goal with 3:54 remaining.
Britt played a role on defense on Troup’s next series as the Tigers were at their own 13 with a second down at their own 13 when a pass from quarterback Will Smith was picked off by Britt at the Cougars’ 40 with 2:46 remaining.
However, the Cougars were unable to take advantage of the turnover as they got as far as the Tigers’ 18 when they lost possession on downs in the early seconds of the second quarter.
After holding the Tigers, the Cougars took over at their 21 when Britt took a handoff and raced 43 yards through the middle and the home team had a first-and-10 at the Tigers’ 30.
Seven plays later the Cougars recorded a touchdown as Britt ran to his left for a five-yard score with 5:21 remaining in the half and the lead was 10-0 after the extra point by Cox was good.
The Cougars had one more opportunity to score in the first half as they started at their 27 and moved the ball downfield behind the passing of Bryant who completed four of five at one point, but a pair of incompletion and a play for negative yardage stalled the drive and they took the 10-0 lead to the locker room.
At the start of second half, the Tigers opened with possession at their 20 and went on a drive that would last over seven minutes behind the running of Dre Towns and Daryl Dunlap to make the Troup faithful feel encouraged as they moved to the Cougars’ 15.
However, the turnover bug that plagued the Tigers in their game at Callaway last week returned as Dunlap fumbled and the Cougars recovered with 4:28 remaining.
The Tigers defense came in and held the Cougars on the ensuing series and on the following series recorded only score of the evening came as a Cougar fumble was recovered and returned approximately 50 yards for a touchdown 30 seconds into the final quarter and the margin was cut to 10-7 after the extra point.
Troup attempted an onside kick but Newnan recovered at their own 33 and made the visitors pay for the call as they went on a 67-yard drive behind the running of Britt until they reached the Tigers‘ 17 when Bryant hit Arnold in the end zone with 8:41 remaining to take a 10-point lead after the extra point by Cox.
The Tigers were still in the game as proven by the ensuing kickoff that picked up at his three-yard line and returned it 57 yards to the Cougars 41.
However, the joy in the stands changed to agony as Smith was intercepted at the two yard line on the first play from scrimmage by a Cougar defender.
The Tigers defense, which made several plays throughout the game when needed was able to hold the Cougars at their own 13 and force a short punt with a chance to rally.
However, a Tiger special teams player elected to field a bouncing ball and attempt a return but bobbled the ball instead allowing the Cougars to retain possession and lower the emotion of their guests.
Troup finished the game with five turnovers and were flagged for over 100 yards for a number of infractions from consecutive illegal procedure calls to several personal foul violations.
The Cougars will be idle next week before hosting Hardaway on September 27while the Tigers will face another team of Cougars when they face Alexander next Friday.

East Coweta rallies to defeat Whitewater

SHARPSBURG-The East Coweta Lady Indians scored four runs in the fifth and sixth innings Wednesday night to come from behind with a 5-2 victory over the Whitewater Lady Wildcats in a non-region matchup.
The win improves the Lady Indians overall record to 8-4 with a Region 3-AAAAAA game Thursday at home against the Westlake Lady Lions while the Lady Wildcats fell to 12-5 on the season.
The Lady Indians took the first lead of the game as Kia Smith led off the bottom of the first inning with a walk, stole second and moved to third on a single by Mckhia Freeman and came home on a sacrifice fly to center field by Katey Lynch.
The Lady Wildcats came back in the top of the second inning to take a 2-1 lead as Kylee Southers led off with a single and two outs later Breanna Burgett hit the first offering from pitcher Morgan Goree over the left field fence for a home run.
Whitewater threatened to add to the lead in the third and fifth innings against Goree but usually there were two outs and she usually got of any trouble with an infield out.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, EC rallied as Hailey Baswell was hit by a pitch to open the frame, stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Gracelynn Newmon before coming home with the tying run on a single to center field by Smith.
Smith advanced to second base on a wild pitch and advanced to third when Freeman was narrowly retired on a groundout to short before coming home with the lead run on a single by Shemiah Sanchez.
Insurance runs came in the bottom of the sixth inning as Lynch led off with a single and pinch runner Madison Carter moved to second on a wild pitch.
Carter moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Maggie Morrow, Reba Jones and Lauren Liebe reached on walks to load the bases for Baswell who hit a sacrifice fly to center field that brought Carter home.
Meanwhile, courtesy runner Jamie Vitale recorded the final run of the game when she scored when Newmon lined n a single off the glove of the Lady Wildcats.
The margin was enough for Goree who retired the first batter on a groundoput, surrendered a walk to Hannah Thomason before getting a 4-3 double play to end the game and finish with a four-hitter.
The varsity win was a sweep for EC as the junior varsity scored 11 runs in the bottom of the first inning en route to a 15-0 three inning win.
Carter, Vitale and Rachel Vaughn each went 2-for-2 at the plate with Vitale collecting three RBIs while Qortni Ware and Vaughn each had two.
Jessica Barber tossed all three innings allowing a bunt single and a walk while recording four strikeouts.

Lady Vikings shutout Lady Indians in Strikeout Cancer game

Members of the Northgate and East Coweta softball teams gather around longtime softball coach Larry Shelnutt, his wife Linda and his granddaugher during the Strikeout for Cancer game held at ECHS on Monday night. Shelnutt, who is currently fightning cancer, coached many of the players in the photo and was a former assistant coach and booster club president of the softball program at ECHS. 

SHARPSBURG-The Lady Vikings scored four runs in the top of the third inning Monday night while pitchers McKenzie Peace and Haley Flood combined to allow three hits in a 6-0 victory over the East Coweta Lady Indians.
The game was part of a junior varsity/varsity doubleheader in an annual Strikeout for Cancer event held at East Coweta High School.
The Lady Vikings played without head coach Lisa Skelton who was serving out a two-game suspension after being ejected from a recent game and improved to 9-2 on the season while the Lady Indians dropped to 6-4 on the season.
The Lady Indians had an opportunity to score the first runs of the game as Mekhia Freeman and Shemiah Sanchez reached base with one out in the bottom of the first inning but Peace left them stranded as she induced a popup and a groundout to end the frame.
Both teams were scoreless until the top of the third inning when the Lady Vikings took advantage of mistakes to get on the board.
Brittany Futral led of the inning by reaching first on a walk, couretsy runner Ebonee Echols stole second and went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Rachel Cook.
Kat Davenport attempted a sacrifice bunt that was hit to the mound, but the ball was misplayed by EC starting pitcher Morgan Goree as Echols came home with the intial run of the game.
Davenport moved to second on a wild pitch and after a strikeout came home on a double to left field by Regan Kinsch.
Peace followed by reaching first after being hit by a pitch and Skalski reentered the game as a courtesy runner.
With Jessica Cochran at the plate, Kinsch advanced to third on a wild pitch and would come home as the throw from home to third went into left field.
Meanwhile, Skalski would follow Kinsch to third and eventually the final run of the inning on a single by Cochran.
The margin was enough for Peace who held the Lady Indians at bay for five innings as they were able to collect two hits through the first four innings before Flood took over who allowed one hit through the final three innings to collect a save.
The Lady Vikings added to their lead in the top of the sixth inning as Echols reached on a one out walk off reliever Kaylin Wall and Jessica Houk followed with a single to center field.
After an infield fly, Khira Long hit a single to right that scored Echols and advanced Houk to third who would eventually come home with the final run on a steal of home.

Lady Cougars end nine-year drought, defeat Lady Indians for region lead.

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UPDATE

SHARPSBURG-On October 23, 2004, George W. Bush was a couple of weeks away from being reelected as the 41st president of the United States and the number one song was My Boo by Usher and Alicia Keys.
It was also the last time the Newnan Lady Cougars defeated the East Coweta Lady Indians in softball as the former were 1-0 winners and advanced to the Elite Eight Tournament in Carrie Gilmore’s first year as head coach.
The Lady Cougars ended that streak Thursday evening as they scored four runs in the first inning and made the lead stand as they came away with a 6-5 victory and the lead in Region 3-AAAAAA.
With the victory, the Lady Cougars improved to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in region play while the Lady Indians fell to 6-3 overall and 1-1 in the region.
The game got off to rugged start for the Lady Indians as the Lady Cougars jumped on miscues of the former with two outs.
After EC starter Morgan Goree retired the first two batters in the top of the first but Arden Jobe reached base after an infield error and Lindsay Stewart followed with a single.
Lesley Davis came through as she hit a double that scored courtesy runner and Stewart then after a walk to Newnan starting pitcher Tori Loveless, Masen Willard singled to left field to score Davis and on the play another run came home as the ball was misplayed.
The Indians rallied after one out in the bottom of third inning as Kia Smith was hit by a pitch and Mekhia Freeman reached on a single.
After Shemiah Sanchez hit a flyball to center field, Katey Lynch and Maggie Morrow followed with RBI singles that cut the margin to 4-3.
The Lady Cougars scored an insurance run in the top of the fifth inning as Davis led off with a double, a sacrifice bunt moved pinch runner Tori Neil to third and Willard followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Neil from third.
In the bottom of the frame, the Lady Indians had an opportunity at tying the game as Freeman walked and Sanchez singled with both advancing on a sacrifice bunt by Lynch.
However, Loveless got out of trouble as she retired Morrow on a strikeout and induced an infield pop to Reba Jones.
The Lady Cougars took a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning as Goggins reached on a one out walk and after the second out of the frame was recorded came home on a double by Jobe.
As the case has been in previous games between the two, the Lady Indians usually rallied late to escape with the win and this game was appearing be following that theory in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Sanchez led off with a walk and Lynch followed with a double that put the two in scoring position, but that is where the theory ended as the Lady Cougars traded runs for outs as Morrow and Jones had RBI groundouts.
Loveless managed to end the game and break the streak as induced a groundball to Stewart who threw a strike to first baseman Courtney Darrow and the dugout emptied with excitement.
The Lady Indians will look to recover Monday when they host the Northgate Lady Vikings in the annual cancer game with proceeds going to the Pink Posse of Coweta County and the Cancer Treatment Centers of America who have a foundation and a facility in Newnan.
The junior varsity will play at 4:30 and the varsity will play afterward.
The Lady Cougars will host the Pike County Lady Pirates at 6:00 in a non-region contest before spending the weekend at the East Carroll Complex in the Trojan Slam.

Five run fifth inning keys Lady Cougars to victory

 WINS 6-4

The Lady Cougars scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to defeat the Carrollton Lady Trojans 6-4 in a Tuesday evening non-region contest.
The win was the fourth in a row for Newnan who now own a 5-3 record after starting the season 1-3 with a Region 3-AAAAAA matchup with rival East Coweta Thursday night in Sharpsburg while Carrollton fell to 5-3.
Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning when Lauren Ferguson led off with a solo home run to cut the margin to 3-2.
Chaycie Goggins singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch before advancing to third on an infield single by Shania Colton and Arden Jobe hit a groundball to short as Goggins scored the tying run.
However, the shortstop dropped the ball and Jobe reached first while Colton moved to third with a chance to be the go ahead run.
Hannah Scarburough ran for Jobe and Stewart hit a double to left and Colton came home to give Newnan a 4-3 lead.
A groundout to short by Lesley Davis and a sacrifice bunt by pitcher Tori Loveless folloed and accounted for a pair of runs and a 6-3 lead.
Howver, the Lady Trojans tried to come back in the top of the sixth inning on a two-out double by Shelby Yates but Loveless was able get the third out and strand two runners.
In the top of the seventh, the Lady Trojans saw a runner on base due to an infield error but Loveless was able to leave her stranded as the game ended.
The Trojans took the lead with a single run in the top of the first inning but the Cougars tied the game in the bottom of the frame as Goggins led off with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a single by Arden Jobe before coming home when Lindsay Stewart popped to the pitcher in foul territory.
The Lady Trojans took a 2-1 lead with an unearned run in the top of the third inning and scored a single run in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI double by Alli Hubbard.