Lady Indians JV defeats Northgate, extends unbeaten streak while rain washes out varsity

Story by Stuart Crosby

Photos by Paula Stubbs

Madison Duffle was 2-for-2 at the
plate, scored twice and had two RBIs.

Madison Duffle was perfect in two plate appearances Wednesday afternoon as the East Coweta Lady Indians defeated the host Northgate Lady Vikings 5-2 in a junior varsity softball contest.
The game was the opener for the Lady Indians who are scheduled to host the junior varsity version of the Georgia Dugout Club Tournament Friday afternoon.
The win also extended the Lady Indians' unbeaten streak to 34 games after a loss to the Lady Vikings in 2017.
Duffle opened the game with an infield single and stole second with Karlie Guiterrez at the plate and after the latter reached on a walk, the two stole a base and would score on a single by Madisyn Weathers.
The Lady Indians added to the lead in the top of the second inning as Samantha Whitehall reached on a walk and stole second before advancing to third on a single by Maggie Stubbs.

Maggie Stubbs rounds third in the
top of the second inning.

Both came home when Duffle lined a triple to left field and the final run came as Ansley Teteak followed with a single.
Ansley Joiner was effective in the first two innings of the game for EC but Northgate mounted a comeback in the bottom of the third inning as Chelbi McElwaney and Abby Kinsey led off with walks.
Addie Mease was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Jena Sechrest who would reach on an error that allowed McElwaney to come home and after a fielders choice, Harmony singled to score Mease which led to the final margin.
The game ended after a one hour time limit.
Weather permitting, the Lady Indians are scheduled to travel to Fayetteville to face Whitewater on Thursday before the tournament on Friday.
NOTE: The two schools' varsity teams were able to get their game started before the inclement weather came through the area and ended the contest after three innings.

Ansley Joiner looks in for a sign
during the East Coweta JV game at Northgate.

The game will be played at a later date.
The Lady Indians scored a run in the top of the first inning as Kenadie Cooper reached on a single and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Bailee Echols.
In the top of the third inning, EC added to the lead as Ashleigh Griffin scored on a one out triple by Katie Taylor.
Jaliyah Homes was the benefactor of the lead and appeared to have a solid outing with five strikeouts before the weather made the game unplayable with one out in the bottom of third inning when Gwen Holbrook was at the plate.
The Lady Indians will take a 3-0 record to Hillgrove Friday afternoon when they will face the Lady Hawks and the Walnut Grove while the Lady Vikings (2-1) are scheduled to play again Thursday when they are scheduled to play at Newnan High School against the Lady Cougars.

EC wins twice in GDC Tournament loses three to the weather

 SHARPSBURG-The weekend was far from dull as the East Coweta Lady Indians as they opened their 2020 softball by hosting the Georgia Dugout Club Tournament.
On Friday, the Lady Indians were enjoying an 8-3 lead over the Lamar County Trojans as the top of the fourth inning began when lightning became an uninvited guest and after two hours the game was called.
The weather also postponed games between Lamar County and Westfield with the latter also scheduled to face EC.
Saturday morning came and the result was good for the Lady Indians as Jaliyah Holmes and Hannah Stubbs combined on a one-hitter in a 7-0 victory over the North Paulding Wolfpack while Kaliyah Matthews RBI double in the bottom of the fourth led EC to a 4-2 win over the Tattnall Square Trojans.
In the opening game of the day, the Lady Indians took the early lead as Kenadie Cooper singled and advanced around the bases after a double by Kylie Ferguson and a walk to Ashleigh Griffin.
Katie Taylor hit a sacrifice fly that was dropped as Cooper to score while Ferguson came home on a sacrifice fly hit by Kip Heggood.
The Lady Indians added to the lead in the bottom of the second inning as Emma Elrod, who was denied her first varsity home run on Friday, got credit for a solo shot over the left field fence on Saturday.
Cooper followed with a single and moved to second on a stolen base by scoring in front of a home run by Ashleigh Griffin.
The Lady Indians added to the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning as Elrod led off with a bunt single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cooper and came home on a double by Ferguson who scored the final run on a two out single by Bailee Echols.
The 7-0 advantage was more than enough for Holmes who retired the first seven batter before an infield hit in the third inning.
Holmes pitched around it as she retired the next four batters before yielding to Stubbs who also recorded a perfect fifth.
In four innings of work, Holmes recorded 10 strikeouts.
Cooper, Ferguson, Matthews and Elrod each had two hits.
In the second game involving the Lady Indians, EC took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Cooper singled and advanced to to second on a groundout before scoring on a double by Griffin who came home on a single by Echols.
Tattnall Square tied the game in the top of the fourth inning but EC regained the lead as Heggood reached on a two out double by Matthews.
Cooper scored the final run of the game as an infield error allowed her to scpore from second.
Ferguson started the game by going four innings allowing six hits in four innings before turning the game over to Holmes who retired six of seven batters including four strikeouts. 
A third game for EC was scheduled as Stratford Academy was scheduled to play but after 45 minutes it was determined to call the game after conditions were reported to be getting worse.

Eight-run second paves way to victory for HP (Argila) club

Logan Spivey pitched the first three innings for
Home Plate allowing no hits. 

PEACHTREE CITY-An eight-run second inning supported the pitching of Logan and Quinlan WIley Wednesday and paved the way for the Home Plate Chili Dogs (Argila) to defeat the Bullpen Redstitch 9-2 in an 18U tournament game.
The Chili Dogs will play again on Thursday at their PTC complex at 10:15 against the Academic Patriots Lovejoy as part of the 18U Southeast Elite Championship Tournament.
After a scoreless first inning, the Chili Dogs were able to take advantage of a pair of errors and walks in the top of the second.
Kile Greenwald (Whitewater) started the frame by reaching on an infield error, Wildcat teammate Connor Faulkner followed with a walk and Daniel Courtney (Starr's Mill) loaded the bases with a bunt single.
Austin Hendricks (Upson-Lee) put the Chili Dogs on the board when he lined a two run single to right center field and Wiley (East Coweta) singled to reload the bases.
A walk to Jake Willis (Upson-Lee) brought Courtney plateward and with one out, the Chili Dogs pulled a triple steal as Faulkner scored with Wiley taking third and Willis stealing second.
Jett Lovett (Newnan) hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Wiley from third.

An error allowed Garrett Carter (Ola) to reach base while Sean White (Starr's Mill) had a run scoring single and Greenwald closed out the scoring for the Chili Dogs with a two-run double.
Greewald's double also caused the Redstitch to make a pitching change as Andrew Smith (Union Grove) retired Faulkner to end the frame.

Quinlan Wiley was 1-for-3 at the plate and tossed three innings
on the mound. He recorded five strikeouts and caught a line drive
during that stint.

Smith proved to be effective for the Redstitch as he allowed baserunners to open the third and fourth innings but was able to induce a pair of popups and record three strikeouts to keep his team in the game.
Smith ran into trouble in the top of the fifth inning as he allowed consecutive singles to Greenwald and Faulkner, but a pair of strikeouts and groundout would keep the Chili Dogs from scoring.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Chili Dogs were able to score off of Smith as Dekel Williams (East Coweta) and Lovett had consecutive singles with Williams scoring as White grounded out to second.
Benefiting from the early support was starter Logan Spivey (Upson-Lee) who held the Redstitch hitless despite allowing three walks in three innings.
Wiley took over on the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning and despite allowing a pair of hits and runs in the frame, would pitch effectively for three frames as he recorded five strikeouts and recorded a putout in which a ball was lined back to him. 
     

Sweatman, Millans combine on six-hitter and fan 13 in Sox win

Noah Sweatman allowed four hits and recorded

10 strikeouts in five and two-third innings in Saturday's game.

MARIETTA-Caleb Cashion and Donovan Cash each had two hits and scored a run while Noah Sweatman and Austen Millans combined on a six hit, 12 strikeout performance Saturday as the Sox defeated the Mavz (White) 6-1 in an 18U Perfect Game tournament game at Sprayberry High School.
The Sox will play AASA National Sunday at 12:15 at East Cobb while the Mavz will play the East Cobb Colt 45s at Kennesaw Mountain High School.
Thw Sox got on the board first as Myles Cook (Northgate) reached base to start the game, stole second and oved to third pon a wuld pitch before coming home on a sacrifice fly to left field by Cash.

Donovan Cash leads off in the top of the sixth after his second hit
of the game.

The Mavz tied the game on the bottom of the frame as Mitchell Brown (South Paulding) led off with a single, moved to third on a one out single by Jak Everett (Northgate) before scoring on a two out single by Mitchell Bass (Central-Carrollton).
Everett was 2-for 3 at the plate for the Mavz.
After the single by Bass, Sweatman went on a streak in which he retired 11 straight batters including five by strikeout.
Meanwhile, his Sox teammates reclaimed a lead he never surrendered as Ryder Willard (Northgate) singled while Cashion (East Coweta) followed with a double to open the top of the second inning.
A wild pitch scored Willard from third with the lead run as Cashion moved to third and eventually score on a sacrifice fly Jake Queen (Northgate).
The Sox added to their lead in the top of the sixth inning as Cash singled and advanced two bases on wild pitches before coming home on a sacrifice fly by Willard. 
Chris Buchanan (Whitewater) scored the other run in the frame on a two out single by Queen.
In the bottom of the inning, Sweatman continued with his mastery over the Mavz with a pair of strikeouts before he was lifted in favor of Millans (Whitewater) who ended the frame with... a strikout.
The final run of the game came in the top of the seventh inning as Andrew Hutcherson reached on an infield single and eventually came home on a double by Zach Carlton (East Coweta).
In the bottom of the inning, Millans allowed a pair of singles but recorded a pair of strikeouts.

Chili Dogs (Argila) score early, often in victory

PEACHTREE CITY-The Home Plate Chili Dogs (Argila) scored in every inning behind a 14-hit attack Monday afternoon to defeat Top Prospect West 14-1 in a WWBA 17U tournament game at Home Plate that was called after five innings.
The Chili Dogs will face BPA Tuesday morning at 10:15 at Home Plate while the TPB squad will play in Cartersville.
The Chili Dogs started their scoring binge in the top of the first inning as Jett Lowery (Newnan) was hit by a pitch, stole second and came home on a one out double by Sean White (Starr's Mill) who scored on a double by Michael Maginnis (Newnan).
In the bottom of the first, TPB cut the lead in half with two outs as Larson Scholz (Asheville, NC) drilled a 2-0 offering over the left field fence for a solo home run.
However, the Chili Dogs took the run back as Kile Greenwald (Whitewater) drilled a pitch to same area as Scholz' solo home run and the lead was 3-1.
After the inning's first out, Logan Spivey (Upson-Lee) and Daniel Courtney (Starr's Mill) had back-to-back singles then scored on a two out double by Garrett Carter (Ola).
The Chili Dogs took a 5-1 lead into the top of the third inning when they added four more runs to assume a 9-1 cushion that was never in jeopardy.
Maginnis reached on an infield error that allowed him to reach second, advanced to third when Ben Moseley (Starr's Mill) grounded out and came home on a single by Quinlan WIley (East Coweta).
Greenwald singled and Whitewater teammate Chris Buchanan was hit by a pitch before Spivey had a single that scored Wiley.
A single by Courtney, a sacrifice fly by Lowery accounted for the other two runs of the frame.
The lead was more than enough for starting pitcher Connor Smith (Trinity, Sharpsburg) who pitched solid after the home run by Scholz.
He would complete his three-inning stint allowing three hits and recording five strikeouts.
TPB made a pitching change to start the top of the fourth inning but Home Plate continued to add to the lead as White drilled a solo home run over the right field fence that increased the advantage to 10-1.
Austin Hendricks (Upson-Lee) pitched a perfect bottom of the fourth inning with a pair of strikeouts that allowed his teammates to come off the field and add to the lead.
Greenwald reached on an infield error and with one out moved to second as Spivey reached on an infield single.
Courtney followed with a walk and with two outs, Dekel Williams (East Coweta) and Hendricks followed with bases loaded walks that resulted in runs.
Maginnis closed the scoring barrage with a two run single. Jake Willis (Whitewater) closed the game in the bottom of the fifth with a quick frame. 

Dr. Backes performs surgery as EC Bullets team split in 16U games at Legacy Showcase

POWDER SPRINGS-As the ace for the Starr's Mill Lady Panthers, pitcher Lilli Backes went through the 2019 season  carving up foes at the plate.

Lilli Backes (Starr's Mill) bats in one the EC Bullets (Heggood/Backes)
games Saturday at Lost Mountain Park. IN game one, she tossed a one hit,
seven strikeout performance against Lady Lightning Gold.

The 2020 summer travel ball season is no exception as she tossed a one-hitter Saturday as the EC Bullets (Heggood/Backes) defeated the Lady Lightning Gold Futures 4-0 in a 16U game of the Legacy Showcase at Lost Mountain Park.
Unfortunately, the Bullets could only manage a split as they came on the short end of a 3-2 loss to the Firecrackers GA (Cooper).
The first game was scoreless until the bottom of the third inning as Camille Mackedon reached on a one out infield single and raced around the bases for a run as Ava Brooke Strickland (East Coweta) lined a shot into left center field for a double.
The Bullets added to the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning as Backes and Kip Heggood (East Coweta) reached on infield miscues.
A single allowed courtesy runner Bailey Echols (East Coweta) to score while Heggood stole second and scored on a throwing error while Zoe Cook (Bremen) was responsible for the final run with an RBI groundout.
The margin was more than enough for Backes who recorded at least one strikeout in every frame en route to a seven strikeout performance 10 first pitch strikes.
The only hit surrendered came in the top of the fifth inning with two walks as the only other times LLG had a runners on base.
In the game against the Firecrackers, the Bullets took a 1-0 lead as Emma Elrod (east Coweta) scored from third on an infield error.
The Firecrackers tied the game in the bottom of the first inning against starter Abby Henderson but the Bullets came back in the top of the second inning. when Cook drilled a shot over the left field fence for a solo home run.
The 2-1 lead held for a couple innings as Henderson retired a string of eight batters in nine at bats with a third inning single being the only dent.
The Firecrackers came back in the bottom of the fourth inning as a pair of errors and a sacrifice fly accounted for the scoring.
The Bullets tried to rally as Madison Moreland singled and Madison Cosgrove reached after being hit by a pitch.
However, they were unable to score as a strikeout and a groundout ended the contest.
In defeat Henderson allowed four hits and recorded a pair of strikeouts.     
NOTE: The Bullets rebounded Sunday morning with a 2-1 victory over Florida Impact (Page). Details are unavailable. 

Chili Dogs light fireworks with two five-run innings against ASAA

EMERSON-The Home Plate Chili Dogs (Argila) struck early and kept the pressure going Saturday morning as they drilled the ASAA 18U Nationals 12-2 in a State Games of Georgia contest played at Lakepoint.
The Chili Dogs will play again on Sunday at 10:15 against the Sandy Plains Wildcats 18U in a bracket game while the Nationals will play the Roswell Hornets in a 12:30 consolation game.
Home Plate took the early as Jett Lovett opened the game by reaching on a walk and quickly scored on a double to left field by Garrett Carter (Ola).
In the top of the third inning, the Chili Dogs took a commanding lead with a five-run frame that gave them a 6-0 lead.
Kile Greenwald (Whitewater) led off with a single and after one out, Daniel Courtney (Starr's Mill) reached on an error and Dekel Williams (East Coweta) singled to load the bases.
Greenwald scored when Lovett walked then Carter recorded a pair of RBIs with a triple before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Michael Maginnis (Newnan). 
The Chili Dogs added to their lead in the top of the fourth inning as Yates Kelleher (Newnan) reached on an error and later scored on a single to left by Courtney.
Nationals got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning and in the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, but Lovett came to the mound and the Newnan Cougar retired the next two batters to keep the margin at 7-2.
The Chili Dogs put a resounding boom to their firecracker of an offense in the top of the sixth inning as they added five more runs.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Courtney lined a two-run single to left field and Williams followed with a shot to right field that resulted in a three-run inside-the-park home run.
Lowery retired the side in the top of the sixth inning to end the game. 
Connor Smith (Trinity Christian-Sharpsburg) started the game by allowing three hits in three scoreless frames