With two more wins over quality opponents, the Columbia Academy Lady Cougars are back to .500 on the season and playing their best ball as they near the postseason.
The Lady Cougars (11-11) were actually supposed to host a tournament Saturday at Southwest Mississippi Community College, but two teams had to pull out, and the Summit college got a lot of rain the night before so it had to be cancelled. But they returned to the field Monday at PCS and blanked the Lady Bobcats 7-0.
The game got cut short because of rain after three innings, but Wilks was pleased with how the Lady Cougars played. Presley Dease paced the offense with 2 RBI, while Briley Sullivan and Megan Rowley each knocked in a run. Alana Bullock went the distance in the circle and allowed just two hits.
On Tuesday CA avenged a previous 6-0 loss to Sylva Bay Academy by beating up Sylva Bay 9-2 at home.
“It was a very good game for us defensively, and we pitched well. We put together a complete game,” Wilks said. “We jumped out early and scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and were able to add a couple more along the way. We’ve been playing pretty good so hopefully we can continue.”
Maggie Smith drove in a career-high four runs, and Rowley had three base knocks and 2 RBI. Bullock tossed five innings, allowing two runs, and Macey Branch pitched two scoreless innings in relief.
The Lady Cougars played host to PCS Thursday for senior night, but results were unavailable at press time. They will play at Oak Forest Academy Monday before closing out the regular season with their final district contest in a makeup game against Lamar Christian.
The South State Tournament begins Saturday, and Wilks said he believes the Lady Cougars will get in regardless of the outcome of the Lamar Christian game.
“We’re looking forward to these next couple of games, and hopefully we can make a run at south state,” he said.
Wilks said Bullock and Branch will carry the load in the circle for CA in the playoffs. Bullock was expected to be the ace going into the season but tweaked her knee early on, and Branch stepped up as the primary pitcher. Now that Bullock is healthy again, she’s been the No. 1 starter in recent weeks.
“They’ve both done well. I’m glad to see Alana is back healthy and pitching well,” Wilks said.
