The Lady Cougars softball team had a busy week, playing seven games in as many days and reaching the halfway point in their season.
Columbia Academy (6-10, 0-3) played its second district game of the year Aug. 6 at Bowling Green and lost 13-3 despite a Bailey Buckley home run. Maggie Wilks got tagged for 10 earned runs on 11 hits and five walks in five innings in the circle.
Following two days off the Lady Cougars hosted Brookhaven Academy Friday night, but five early errors cost them the chance for a quality win in a 5-4 loss. Buckley was great in the circle, tossing seven innings and allowing just one earned run on four hits. Maggie Wilks led the offense with a single, double and 2 RBI, and Alana Bullock and Abi Williams each had an RBI single.
“Last week we had a good week. We played some really tough teams. Friday we played Brookhaven and actually played really well,” head coach Kyle Wilks said. “We put ourselves in position to win the game in the last inning by scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh and had the tying run on base and the winning run at the plate. We’re putting ourselves in a position to win those games, which is a good thing.”
Columbia Academy played four games Saturday in the Amite School Center Tournament in Liberty, with a pair of victories over Union Christian and a pair of losses to Franklin.
Buckley ripped another home run in the Lady Cougars’ first game of the day, a 5-4 loss to Franklin, while Maggie Wilks allowed five runs on seven hits while striking out three in four innings.
Led by a 3-for-3 performance with two doubles and an RBI by Maggie Wilks in the second game, CA topped Union 11-2. The Lady Cougars played Union again immediately following their first matchup and won in walk-off fashion 6-5 with Presley Dease scoring on a passed ball in the bottom of the fifth inning. Buckley launched her fifth homer of the season and got the win in the circle with two innings of scoreless relief.
Despite a two-double showing by Abi Williams, the Lady Cougars were held to just three hits in a 5-1 loss to Franklin in Saturday’s finale. Bullock surrendered five runs on five hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings, but Maggie Wilks was flawless in 1 1/3 innings in relief.
Coach Wilks said he believes the Lady Cougars played well in the tournament despite coming off of a long week with two district games and the non-district showdown with Brookhaven.
“I think the draining week kind of got us over there, but we ended up going 2-2. We have to continue to be able to avoid the big inning and make the routine plays when we get the opportunity,” he said. “We’ve been swinging the bats well, and we’re hitting a lot of balls right at somebody but still having quality at-bats. We’re putting the barrel on the ball, and I feel like we’re getting better every day.”
CA played its third district game of the year Monday night at Wayne Academy and was bested 9-2. Williams and Allie Watts each drove in a run to lead the offense, but Buckley had her first rough outing in the circle this year. She gave up nine runs on 12 hits in three innings. Maggie Wilks, though, tossed three scoreless innings in relief while striking out two.
The Lady Cougars hosted Bowling Green Tuesday night, but results were unavailable at press time. Wilks said Bowling Green is a state championship contender and has a really talented pitcher that stays around the plate. He added the plan against her would be to be aggressive early in the count and hunt fastballs. He said he believes if they stick to their plan and do the little things right, the Lady Cougars could get their first district win.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to put it all together and make a little run here at the playoffs,” he said.
The Lady Cougars will have five much-needed days off before hosting Amite School Center in a district game Monday.
Pictured Above: Lady Cougars senior Bailey Buckley, who has five homers in 2019, bats Aug. 5 against Wayne Academy. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
