Softball notebook: Wave winning close

Published 12:40 am Monday, April 2, 2012

NATCHEZ — The Cathedral High School softball team seems to have a knack for getting itself in and out of trouble.

In two consecutive days, Cathedral won in walkoff fashion against Bogue Chitto and Vidalia high schools Thursday and Friday. The game against Vidalia went into extra innings, and both games could have been ended in the top of the seventh had the Lady Green Wave been able to get three outs.

In Thursday’s game against Bogue Chitto, starter Mollie Devening gave up five runs, but zero of those runs were earned. Cathedral blew a 3-1 lead in the top of the seventh because of fielding errors and trailed 4-3 going into the bottom half of the frame. But Cathedral rallied off fielding miscues themselves, scoring two runs to win 5-4.

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In Friday’s game, Ginny Daggett got the start for the Lady Wave, lasting seven innings before Vidalia forced a 4-4 tie in the top of the seventh. Cathedral wouldn’t score its final run until the bottom of the eighth, and Devening came in to relieve Daggett on the mound in the top of the eighth.

Cathedral head coach Gary Blackwell said having two high-caliber pitchers like Devening and Daggett helps his team tremendously.

“We’re very fortunate that we have both of those girls,” Blackwell said. “If one gets in trouble, we can depend on the other one to come in.”

Blackwell also said McKenzie Milligan and Payton Monticello could pitch for him if necessary.

Cathedral (11-4-1) will face St. Aloysius today.

Vidalia High School

Taylor Rodgers started for Vidalia in its loss to Cathedral, pitching all eighth innings. Of the five runs she gave up, only one was earned. Vidalia head coach Gary Parnham said that while he was pleased with how his team battled, there were still too many mistakes made.

“We still struggle with not playing smart and making plays,” Parnham said. “We have to work on cutting down on errors and on mistakes at the plate. Those are the things we’re still battling.”

Vidalia (15-10, 2-4) will host Buckeye today.

Natchez High School

A wet field meant the Lady Bulldogs were not able to get their game against Port Gibson in. With a key region game against Terry coming up today, NHS head coach ShaRhonda Welch said it was frustrating having such a long layoff before the next game.

“It frustrates you, because your girls have been practicing and are ready to play, and we were hoping to get a victory under our belts going into the rest of our (regional) games,” Welch said. “But with outdoor sports, that’s just kind of how it comes.”

Even though it hasn’t shown up in the team’s record, Welch said she’s been pleased with how well her team has developed this spring.

“This is the first year we’ve really had a good year. Even though the record is 2-9, we’ve really been developing our team well,” Welch said.

Welch said without the aid of a summer fast-pitch league, getting quality playing time in the offseason hasn’t been an option for her girls.

“We don’t have a summer fast-pitch league in Natchez,” Welch said. “They’ve been trying to get it together, but there are never enough players to sign up, and they end up doing slow-pitch.”