2004

WEEK OF _._f~t:!J..L.b q--=------

Lady Warriors will be young this season

Hill is another rookie to the game as his only fast-pitch coaching experience came in the brief fall season. He has coached qaseball at tl1e high school level, going 193-98 at Philadelphia High School. Since many of the more suc– cessful high school fast-pitch coaches in the area previously coached baseball, that could mean a relatively painless learning peHod. "I hope it does," Hill said. "There are some similarities. There's a few adjustments I'm going to have to go through as a coach, but I don't feel like they'll be big adjustments. The main thing is coaching an older kid." Adapting to junior-college level pitching will be a key to this year's success. "You can look at some of the teams in our district, especially Meridian, that's going to put a good pitcher on the mound. Hinds is going to put quality pitching on the mound," Hill said. "We're going to have to go out and some girls will have to face pitching they're not accustomed to facing. "We really won't find out how good we are until we face some of that good competition."

By Marty Stamper EMG sports ass stant DECATUR - ·, o experi– ence necessary' might be the motto of the 2004 East Central Community College women's softball team. Of the 17 players on this year's roster, only one- Krissi Harris- started last spring. "We're mostly freshmen," said first-year head coach Scott Hill. "We've got one returning starting sophomore, so we're going to really be testing the waters those first few games." The Lady Warriors are slated to open their season on Feb. 19 in a doubleheader at Jones. The home opener is set for March 1 when Southwest Mississippi comes to town for a pair of games. Other sophomores are first baseman Summer Richie and third baseman Samantha Par– tridge. Richie has been both– ered by a knee injury. Hill said. The rest of the team is made up of freshmen, although five were members of Newton County High School's Class 3A state championship team of 2003. Former Lady Cougars on the ECCC roster are right fielder Obreisha Davis, center fielder Shelly Ferguson, pitcher I outfielder Lauren Bar– rett, shortstop Kristin Chaney and second baseman Suzanne Chaney.

"We've got some girls that have had a little success in high school, but this is going to be on a different playing field," Hill said. "I feel good about who we're going to be putting out on the field, but there'll be a little period of getting used to this level." Other freshmen include pitcher I outfielder Lisa Wolf, catcher/third baseman Jhaun Sparnecht, catcher/first baseman Alana Moore, out– fielder Crystal White, out– fielder/first baseman Lindsey Bostick, third baseman/first baseman Kotreece Bender, pitcher I shortstop/outfielder Marley Smith, catcher/short– stop Kristi Willis, and first baseman Mandy Eakes. Barrett and Smith are the probable starters on the mound. Bender and Kristin Chaney won't join the squad until the basketball season is over. The basketball team is a virtual lock for the Region 23 Tournament, March 1-4. 'We feel like Kristin Chaney and Kotreece Bender will be able to come out and help us once they get through, but their season is going to be

2004 SCHEDULE

Feb. 19 Feb. 23 Feb. 26 March 1 March 4 March 9 March 12 March 24

at Jones at Co-Lin

at Shelton State Southwest (DH)

Jones

at Southwest at Pearl River

Co-Lin March 26-27 at NE Tourney March 31 at Miss. Delta April 2 Holmes Apnl 6 at Meridian April 8

at East Mississippi

April 12 April 14 April 16 April 20 April 24 April 27 May 1

Pearl River

at Hinds

Miss. Delta at Holmes Meridian

East Mississippi

Hinds TEAM MEMBERS

Summer Richie, Krissi Harris, Samantha Partridge, Usa Wolf, Obreisha Davis, Jhaun Sparnecht, Alana Moore. Shelly Ferguson, Crystal ~hite, Lauren Barrett, Kristin Chaney, Suzanne Chaney, Lindsei Bostick, Kotreece Bender, Marley Smith, Kristi Willis, Mandy Eakes. going on for a while," Hill said. "We hope we don't have them for a while because that means they will have done well in bas– ketball. It's not going to be good for us, but that's okay. We definitely want the girls to do well and it looks like they will."

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