2010

freshmen: Tayl r Bailev. a product of Bowte High· School in Au ... tin, Texa..., and former <:tandout at~ uthea--t Lauderdale Hi~h School: Kasie Buckle:}. :\ t!\\'!On County High School: Morgan Malone, Madison Central: and Shelby Smith, Union. Buckley also plays shortstop; Malone, first or third base; and Smith, third base. All four hurlers had accomplished careers at their respective high schools. Bailey's honors include receiving "Player of the Week" recognition by The Clarion-Ledger. Buckley was named All-State and All-Dis– trict and received pitching, RBI and team captain awards. She helped lead the Cougars to :five state championships. Malone was named best offensive player. Smith was named to All-District and All– Star teams and chosen a Clarion-Ledger "Player of the Week." She also received best offensive player and ERA (earned run average) awards. In addition to a strong pitching staff, Hill said he is also "blessed" with a talented group of returnees and other freshmen . Sophomore squad mem– bers are :first baseman Brit– tany Cochran, a product of N~wton County High School; third baseman Hailey Chisolm, second baseman Sierra Farlow and outfielder Emily Breland, all products of Neshoba Central High School; left fielder Hannah Lee of Leake Academy; and catcher Paige Holsen of Union. Cochran, a first-team All– State selection as a freshman, is the top returning slugger with a .361 batting average and 28 RBis. She had two home runs, two triples and a pair of doubles. She also scored 25 runs. Cochran was selected the Warriors' best offensive player in 2009. Holsen had a .236 batting average and 18 RBis. She col– lected six doubles, two triples and scored 11 -~With a talent-laden squad ready to take the field in 2010, Hill is obviously \ expecting a successful "I think this teams feels like they can compete well," said Hill. 'We know that it is a long, tou~h schedule and so many thmgs can happen. If a few things go our way, maybe a few of the lofty goals we have set for ourselves will be accomplished." season. runs.

Ecec so~eALL East Central hopes to . cont1nue successful ways in 2010 DECATUR- After six successful years of leading the East Central Gommunity College women's softball pro– gram, head coach Scott Hill is hoping the 2010 squad will accomplish what no other team has yet to achieve: a championship season. If the fall campaign is an indicator for success; then this just might be the year for Warrior softball. The first test of 2010 is Feb. 19, when East Central takes on Missis– sippi Delta Community Col– lege in a doubleheader begin– ning at 1 p.m. on the Decatur campus. "We had a really good fall campaign," Hill said. ''We were satisfied with the way we played in the fall with this team and hope that we will be able to carry that over to this spring." Hill, whose overall record at ECCC is 190-82 and includes three MACJC Cen– tral Division titles, knows competition will again be tough this year, as teams are once again divided into North and South divisions for the second-straight year. During previous seasons, competition was divided into North, Central and South divisions. East Central has advanced to postseason play each season during Hill's leadership. Hill said the keys to suc– cess in the "extremely com– petitive" South Division begin with his pitching staff. "It appears we will be able to rely on our pitching to from school reports

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keep us in games and give us a chance to be successful," • Hill said. 'That will be so key in our ability to advance out of the extremely competitive MACJC South Division."