Harvey Simpson
Cordele Dispatch
Rochelle —
By HARVEY SIMPSON
Dispatch Sports Editor
ROCHELLE — Playing as if both their bats and gloves had holes in them, Wilcox High’s Lady Patriots suffered their most one-sided defeat of their season to date Tuesday when Bacon County clobbered them 16-2.
“We don’t shoot ourselves in the foot with an ordinary weapon; we do so with a howitzer,” coach George Kennedy said after watching his squad get blown away by their guests.
“We can make some of the toughest plays imaginable in the field one moment and then turn right around and botch several routine plays that lead to big innings by our opponents.
“As a result, our problems when it comes to catching and throwing the ball oftentimes don’t give the other team one or two extra outs in an inning but 6-7 instead and it’s killing us.”
Wilcox started its charitable play in the second inning when the first of its half-dozen errors on the day helped the Lady Red Raiders score four times and take a lead that would never be seriously threatened.
The Lady Patriots did get one of those runs back in its half of the second on singles by Crystal Holt and Dakota Miller and a Bacon County boot that allowed Sara Hall to reach base.
The 4-1 score at that point held until the fourth when the visitors used three hits, a walk and two more Wilcox miscues to score five times for a 9-1 advantage.
After Wilcox picked up its final run in the last of the fourth when Heather Tripp’s RBI single scored Rebekka Ledford who had reached on an error, Bacon County struck for seven runs in the fifth. Five base hits, a fielder’s choice and three more Lady Patriot errors figured in that production.
“As disappointed as we all are after a loss like this, I can promise you that we’re going to continue to work hard every time we practice and play in hopes that by the end of the season we will have somehow worked our way into the playoffs,” Kennedy said.
Now 2-12 overall and 0-4 in Region 2-A play, Wilcox has a 5 p.m. game on tap today at Telfair County.
