By By BRUCE HIXON – Sports Editor
One could hardly blame Jefferson Davis Community College Lady Warhawks softball coach Misti Nims when she left the field Saturday frustrated, happy and puzzled.
The frustrating end came in the front of a three-team doubleheader when the Lady Warhawks made a season high eight errors and dropped a 9-8 decision to McHenry (Ill.).
The happy end came when JDCC ended the day with a near perfect performance and a 9-0 triumph over Snead State in a game that took just four and a half innings.
Put the two of them together and there is one puzzled coach.
JDCC (10-19) spotted McHenry a 7-0 lead in the first three innings due largely to miscues on defense. The Lady Warhawks stormed back with a five-run fifth inning thanks largely to Jessica Cunningham's three-run double and Stacy Sanders' RBI single. McHenry extended its lead to 9-5 with a pair of insurance runs in the top of the sixth that turned out to be the difference in the game.
Five hits by JDCC in the bottom of the seventh inning nearly pulled the game out. Cunningham and Nikki Madden both singled with one out and Lakyn Newton followed with a two-run double that cut the McHenry lead to 9-7.
After Tanna Fontes flew out for the second out, Katie Simmons drilled a single that scored Newton to cut the gap to 9-8. Sanders also tried to score on the play with what would have been the tying run, but she was thrown out at the plate for the final out.
Cunningham's two hits and three RBIs led JDCC's offense for the game, while Simmons had two hits and one RBI. Madden also had a pair of hits.
A three-run bottom of the first inning helped the Lady Warhawks lead game two against Snead State from start to finish.
Makeyia Burt beat out an infield single and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Simmons drove in another run on a sacrifice fly and Sanders had an RBI single in that inning that made it 3-0.
JDCC was able to kick the mercy rule into play with a six-run rally in the bottom of the fourth.
The key play in the inning came after the Lady Warhawks loaded the bases and Cunningham's infield grounder was misplayed for a two-run error to make it 5-0. An RBI single by Newton, a two-run double by Simmons and a sacrifice fly by Sanders swelled the gap to 9-0.
That was more than enough support for winning pitcher Nikki Madden, who blanked Snead State on just two hits with three strikeouts.
Newton's two singles and RBI led JDCC's hitting in game two, while Simmons had a double and a team high three RBIs.
"This was a week where we had hoped to make some hay because we played four teams (Enterprise-Ozark, Alabama Southern, McHenry and Snead State) that had struggled quite a bit and we went just 2-4," Nims said. "At the same time, our offense is showing signs of coming around with more consistency."
The Lady Warhawks return to Alabama Community College Conference play Thursday when they travel to L.B. Wallace for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
Game one
McHenry 502 002 0 – 9 11 2
JDCC 000 050 3 – 8 11 8
Game two
Snead State 000 00 – 0 2 1
JDCC 300 6X – 9 8 0