Searching for a #039;W#039;

Published 12:00 am Friday, March 4, 2005

After two losses at home, Coach Donna Sunnycalb and her group of cub Lady Tigers take to the road this weekend in the Charles Henderson Lady Trojan Classic. Greenville took the field in the four-pool tournament against Dothan High School and then will have break while Dothan High and Marbury High play before taking the field to close out the night against Marbury. The Trojan Classic field also includes the host team, Charles Henderson, Northview of Dothan, UMS-Wright from Mobile, Enterprise High, St. James, Opelika and Curry High School. The way the tournament is set up is that each team is guaranteed three games. They will play two pool games on Friday and then will be put into the first round of bracket play on Saturday morning.

"We need to be playing all day," said Sunnycalb. "We aren't going to get better unless they're out there gaining experience. I'm more concerned with our team and us doing the right thing than who we play. We just need to start doing the things that we need to do."

Brittney White is slated to get the start for the Lady Tigers in both of their Friday games and then Sunnycalb is looking to Halie Burnett for the Saturday game. Good news coming into the tournament for Greenville is that they will be getting junior Mikki Harris back. Harris, who plays first base for the Lady Tigers and is considered by Sunnycalb as a coach on the field, has missed the first part of the season due to a knee injury that occurred in the Lady Tigers basketball team's final game of the season against Charles Henderson High School in Eufaula.

"She's a big stick in the line-up," said Sunnycalb. "Whenever she makes contact, she hits it hard. I need a No. 4 batter and I need her back in the infield."

The Greenville High School Lady Tigers took the field Thursday looking to avenge their loss a week prior to the Andalusia Lady Bulldogs. Unfortunately for the Lady Tigers, the No. 6 ranked St. James Lady Trojans did not receive that memo.

The Lady Trojans jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. Things went down hill from there for the Lady Tigers. In the top of the second inning, with one runner on, Burnett and Tara Gibson let a ball drop between allowing a runner to advance to third. Greenville tried to get something going in the bottom of the second inning, but back to back strikeouts and then a ground-out sent them back into the field and signaled the start of the third frame.

St. James tacks on two more runs in the top of the third, moving the score to 7-0 but a flyout to the Lady Tigers eighth-grade firstbasemen, Nicole Norton ends the inning.

The Lady Tigers come to the play looking to hit in the bottom of the third inning. Instead, they went three-up and three-down.

"We're not seeing the ball," said Sunnycalb. "We're not watching ball and that's our biggest mistake right now."

In the top of the fourth inning the Lady Trojans put the game out of reach by posting seven runs to go up 14-0.

Joanna Reynolds puts the final nail in the Greenville coffin with a home run to left field putting the score at 15-0.

Greenville posted back-to-back strikeouts in the bottom of the fifth inning before Kristy Payne flew out to the right fielder to end the game.

St. James' Erin Pierce recorded the victory and also recorded a perfect game. She allowed no hits, no runs and no one on base. She also racked up six strikeouts in the process.

For the Lady Tigers, White recorded four strikeouts, but gave up six earned runs. As a team, Greenville committed nine errors and Burnett still has the team's only hit of the season.