MAVS GET MUCH-NEEDED CONFERENCE WIN

There was no question the Southside Mavericks desperately needed a 7A-Central win when they had their first home conference softball game of the season Tuesday. The Mavs got it done, and then some. Southside scored 19 runs in the second inning and closed things out an inning later in a 22-0 run-rule win against Mount St. Mary at Evans Boys and Girls Club. “We played three really tough conference games playing away and it was great to get back home; we haven’t played at home in over three weeks, and so it was great to get a conference win at home,” Southside coach Cassy Story said. “They did a really good job. I thought they did well looking for good pitches and pitches they could drive; they made adjustments after the first inning and took advantage of some mistakes, so I felt they did a really good job.” The Mavs made an out to start the bottom of the second, but the next 17 batters all reached base as Southside extended its lead after scoring three runs in the first. “We talked about coming out early and trying to score early and get on top early, and I felt they did a really good job of that,” Story said. “They really stayed up and rallied even after (we scored) a few runs and really never gave in and quit, so I think that was something I felt they did really well.” Southside (9-8, 1-3) also got several impact performances from its talented freshman class. Madi Conklin, one of the freshmen, went 3-for-3, with all three hits coming in that 19-run second. Two of those hits went for triples, and she scored three runs while driving in another. Another freshman, Hannah Hogue, drove in five runs, including an inside-the-park grand slam to right which capped the big second inning. Freshman Cailin Massey drove in three runs, including a two-run triple in the second, while freshman Ella Kohler scored three runs. “We’re very young this year, and I only have one senior (Hailey Hogue), but I think the freshmen are doing a good job of stepping up and doing really well for us,” Story said. Then another freshman, Meliah Hunter, was the winning pitcher. Hunter, who threw a five-inning no-hitter when the Mavs won a game in Florida during spring break, gave up one second-inning single Tuesday while striking out seven batters in a three-inning shutout. “She hit her spots well; I felt like she did everything we asked of her out on the mound (Tuesday), so she did really well,” Story said. Hailey Hogue singled and drove in three runs, and Caitlyn Bagby had a two-run double, which was the Mavs’ first big hit during the 19-run second. Also, Hunter doubled and had two RBIs, while Piper Morgan and Mackenzie Farrar scored two runs apiece against MSM (0-3 in 7A-Central). Southside will go to Little Rock Central in a game which was moved up to Thursday due to the possibility of rain Friday. The Mavs then return home next Tuesday to face city rival Northside.

MAVS GET MUCH-NEEDED CONFERENCE WIN

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 4/4/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian D. Sanderford