Harvey Simpson
Cordele Dispatch
Pinehurst —
CORDELE — Crisp County High survived an extra-innings scare in its first start and then won its next three games comfortably to become one of three teams to go undefeated during this weekend’s Watermelon Invitational.
Coach Kevin Blampied’s Lady Cougars eked out a 9-7 win over Schley County to start play and followed up that outcome with victories of 10-0 over Calvary Day of Savannah, 15-1 over Wilcox and 11-3 over Westside Macon.
The sweep in Pool A play improved Crisp’s record to 6-0-1 and enabled it to join Pool B delegate Worth County and Pool C entry Chattahoochee County as the only teams to go undefeated in the tournament.
“I thought the tournament went well overall as there were a lot of good close games played by some good teams who all got to face competition they might not ordinarily see,” Blampied said.
“All of us were very appreciative, too, of all the assistance given us by the Crisp Leisure Opportunities Department when it came to preparing the fields and allowing us to use their facilities.
“In our specific case, I was also happy with the way we performed. Hopefully, we’ll continue to do as well in the three games we have coming up this week (at home Monday at 5 vs. Colquitt, in Nashville on Tuesday at 5:30 vs. Berrien and at home on Thursday at 5 vs. Westover).”
A brief recap of Crisp’s games follows:
Crisp 9, Schley 7
In an extra-innings see-saw duel that saw first one team and then the other forge ahead, Crisp went on top for good when it scored three times in the top of the ninth and held Schley to one score in the bottom of that frame.
Taylor Holmes swung the big stick for the Lady Cougars, ripping a three-run homer early in the game and lining a two-run single in the deciding frame. She went 4-for-5 overall.
The mound win went to Hallye Hobbs who in going the distance struck out five, walked none and scattered 11 hits. She also had two hits of her own as did teammates Sydne Mitchell, Anna Posey and Jensen Holt.
Crisp 10, Calvary Day 0
A five-run first-inning outburst paved the way for a shutout win over the Savannah squad.
Cassidy Jolly struck out five and issued no walks while spinning a two-hitter. Jolly also had two hits as did Mitchell, Posey, Holmes and Taylor Perry.
Crisp 15, Wilcox 1
Gradually increasing their runs production with each inning, the Lady Cougars scored three runs in the first, five in the second and seven in the third to easily dispose of their neighbors to the east.
Hobbs was the winning pitcher, fanning five, walking one and allowing just two safeties.
Mitchell and Posey had two hits apiece for Crisp which also benefited from seven walks and four Wilcox errors. Heather Tripp and Heather Watson had a hit each in defeat.
Crisp 11, Westside Macon 3
Striking for four runs in each of the second and third innings and tacking on three more scores in the fifth, the Lady Cougars once more won handily.
Jolly was credited with the mound win, working four innings, allowing two hits, whiffing three and issuing no free passes. Posey socked a pair of doubles .
