Columbia Academy kicked off district play on the softball field Monday night and had one bad inning drop it to 4-5 overall and 0-1 in district play.
The Lady Cougars took an early lead at home over Wayne Academy in the bottom of the first inning as Maggie Wilks led off with a double, Bailey Buckley singled, Kyla Williams drove in two with a double over the center fielder’s head and Megan
Rowley plated a run with a groundout to make it 3-0. But Wayne used a nine-run third and a four-run seventh to top CA 14-4.
Buckley surrendered nine runs (five earned) in 2 2/3 innings to take the loss, while Maggie Wilks tossed 4 1/3 innings in relief, allowing one earned and four unearned runs.
The Lady Cougars tried to play four games in less than 24 hours Friday and Saturday, beginning on the road Friday night against Simpson Academy, but the game was rained out in the middle of the first inning. However, CA’s first game in the PCS Tournament in Hattiesburg the next morning was against Simpson as well, but it lost 8-6.
Three errors led to five Simpson runs while Bailey Buckley pitched three innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits and three walks. Buckley did some damage at the plate with a two-run homer in the first inning, and Molly Sauls also drove in a pair with a single. Presley Dease had two hits and an RBI, and Trenity Key drew a bases-loaded walk to bring home a run.
In their second game of the day, the Lady Cougars lost a heartbreaker to Heritage Academy 8-7. CA had the tying run on second base in the top of the fifth with one out but popped out to short and the runner on second doubled off to end the game.
Head coach Kyle Wilks said the biggest problem for the Lady Cougars is getting big two-out hits with runners on when they need them and avoiding them on the defensive side. He said if they can improve in those situations the results will follow.
“We’ve had several opportunities throughout the year where we’ve been in a bases-loaded or a second-and-third situation with two outs and come up empty. Two-out hits are what can really help a team. But on the positive side of that we are putting ourselves in those situations to have runners on,” he said. “To me that’s what the other teams have been able to do, which leads to some of these big innings we’ve given up. If you walk one or two and give up a hit, the next thing you know they clear the bases with a double to score three runs. That’s how it’s been going.”
Wilks added CA has kicked the ball around in some of those two-out situations defensively instead of making a play and getting out of an inning. He said he told his players they have put themselves in the position to win more games against good teams, and a hit here or there would lead to a different outcome.
“I do feel as the season goes on that we will get those timely hits like we need them. You never want to be peaking too early. I told them (Monday night) after the game that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s not about you start; it’s about how finish.
Hopefully we’ll keep working, and those right hits in the right spots will come,” he said.
The Lady Cougars were able to avoid the big-inning bug in their final game Saturday thanks to a 10-run first inning that led to a 13-10 win over Presbyterian Christian. PCS was able to score four runs in the third inning and six more in the fourth, but there was a time limit that ended the game after four innings.
Kyla Williams capped off the 10-run first with a three-run homer her second time up to bat in the opening frame, and Buckley plated two runs with a single and a walk. Alana Bullock went the distance in the circle, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out four.
Wilks said that while there are a few girls that have been hot at the plate while the others have struggled, the ones that have stumbled out of the gate have been hitting the ball hard but just haven’t been able to find holes in the defense. He said he likely wouldn’t shuffle his lineup around because it’s only a matter of time until it works itself out.
“The girl that’s hot today may go 0-for-4 tomorrow with four strikeouts, and the girl that’s 0-for-3 today may go 3-for-3 with a home run tomorrow. You never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “The biggest thing for me is to keep grinding and keep working. The ones that are a little bit snake bit, the balls are going to start finding (holes) if they keep taking good swings.”
The Lady Cougars played their second district contest of the year Tuesday night at Bowling Green in Franklinton, La., but results were unavailable at press time. They will play in the Amite School Center Tournament Saturday before playing Wayne in a rematch on the road Monday.
Pictured Above: Lady Cougars shortstop Maggie Wilks rips a leadoff double down the left field line Monday night against Wayne Academy. Columbia Academy is 4-5 to start the season and 0-1 in district play. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
