C-Valley

By

CHUCK CORDER

JONESVILLE, La. &045; If you shake off your big sister, what’s it like sleeping in the same house?

Are you keeping an eye shifting as you wait for morning to come?

One would think these are possible questions and trepidations Block pitcher Glynda Butts succumbs to any time she demands another sign from her Lady Bears battery mate and sister Shonda Butts.

&uot;Very rarely ever do I shake her off,&uot; Glynda said. &uot;But I’m not afraid to share words with her.&uot;

Neither occurrence reared its ugly head Tuesday, as both Butts sisters helped Block (16-6-1) to a three-inning 15-0 Class 1A first-round playoff victory against Cotton Valley.

The Lady Bears host St. Edmund in the regional round at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Glynda Butts, a junior, was magnificent, tossing a perfect game against the Lady Wildcats, who were overwhelmed and overmatched.

Throwing 32 pitches &045; 27 for strikes &045; Glynda Butts mowed down seven of the nine outs, allowing two Cotton Valley hitters to put the ball in play.

&uot;We hadn’t seen anyone that fast,&uot; Lady Wildcats head coach Lisa Windham said. &uot;Our strong point has been hitting all season, but like I said, they hadn’t seen a pitcher throw that fast.&uot;

Glynda’s elder sibling, Shonda Butts, was one of four Lady Bear hitters to collect two or more hits and one of three to knock in at least two runs.

Shonda Butts said her little sister might be getting a little too big for her britches, as shaking off a sign used to be as taboo as one borrowing the other’s mascara.

&uot;(Glynda) hardly ever used to, but I told her if she wants to pitch whatever she wants to, go right ahead,&uot; said Shonda, who was also one of four Block players to collect a double. &uot;But I try to call the right pitches most of the time.&uot;

Such was the case Tuesday, as the Lady Bears broke open a 2-0 game with nine runs on four hits during a second inning, in which they sent 13 batters to the dish.

Storee Ryan and Abigail Reeves began things with back-to-back, one-out singles and Queenie Kimbrough load the bases with a four-pitch walk.

After Glynda Butts walked to score Ryan, making it 3-0, Cotton Valley starter Laura Cole unleashed a wild pitch that plated Reeves before striking out Torrie Creel for the inning’s second out.

&uot;We just had to wait for that pitch to get there,&uot; Block head coach Kerry Kirby said. &uot;Our last game with Vidalia, we had to stay on our toes. It’s hard for them to do that. It took us one inning today, but we got the hang of it.&uot;

After Shonda Butts brought home Kimbrough with a fielder’s choice in which everybody was safe, Misty Smith &045; running for Glynda Butts &045; scored when Ashley Brown blooped a single to center, extending the Lady Bears lead to 6-0.

Block pushed the margin out to eight, before Ryan picked up her second hit of the inning, a 2-run double to left center, upping the ante to 10-0.

&uot;We had both Harrisonburg and Vidalia scheduled last week, but the weather messed us up,&uot; Kirby said. &uot;We got Vidalia in, but all the other games &045; in district &045; were just like this.&uot;