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VIDALIA — Monterey extended its win streak to four games with a 17-5 win over Vidalia Tuesday night. The Vikings yielded 17 runs on 15 hits in the contest. Fourteen of those runs came in the second and third innings. 

Lady Wolves senior Allie Lipsey had six RBIs with three hits in four at-bats. Hannah Hitt had four RBIs and was the winning pitcher for Monterey. 

Lipsey drove in the mercy rule runs in the top of the fifth inning when her blast to right field got down for a base hit. She did not stop at second but kept going for third.

“I had two strikes, so I used a two-strike approach. I knew if I could get some runs in, we would 10-run rule them,” Lipsey said. “I did whatever I could to score a run. I was super excited. As soon as it touched the bat I knew it was a good hit. The previous at-bat, I didn’t do as well. I wanted to redeem myself there.”

Monterey’s win gives them a record of 4-0 to start the season. It is a dream start for the senior, especially considering the team has not practiced with a complete team. Several players finished playing basketball last week, including Lipsey. 

Her hope is the team will continue the win streak moving forward. She said the more games the team wins, the better power ranking they will have, and a better chance to host playoff games in Monterey.

“It is our last chance for me, and a couple of other seniors to win a state title,” Lipsey said. “We have a lot of younger players. We just have to know the rules and what to do in certain scenarios. I think the practice could help us. I think we will do well. chemistry is the other main thing we need.” 

New season, new coach

Vidalia’s first-year coach Taylor Richards hugged Debbie Foster after the game. Her team played its first season without former head coach Forrest Foster, who coached Vidalia for seven seasons before he died on October 19, 2021. 

She said it was a sudden transition. The girls loved him, and she loved him too. After all, Foster was her coach her senior year at Vidalia. Now, she is taking over the reins of his ball club. She tried sitting on the ball bucket to call pitches to the catcher as Foster had done, but she said it did not feel right. She moved to stand along the backstop wall. 

“To be here with them, it has been difficult. It’s a hole that can’t be filled,” Richards said. “I’m doing my best for the girls in the game, and outside the game. It is what he would have done. We had a couple of girls cry today because it was our first home game without him. It is who we are playing for this year.” 

She was thankful Debbie could make the game. It gives the squad an extra push to keep working and play for Forrest. Vidalia’s loss to Monterey was their third game of the season. 

Richards said her squad missed a week and a half of practice time before the season due to a COVID close contact quarantine. They will play seven games next week and have a chance to find a rhythm. 

“This is only our third game with a new coach and a new year. It’s all funky,” Richards said. “We are doing our best to make it work. The girls are doing their best. We are looking forward to all of these games we have, and hopefully, we will get into a groove.”