Lady Devils Take Home Opener Against Independence, Continue With Wins Against Starkville, Riverside and Weir
Junior pitcher Kelsey Kimzey picked up wins against Starkville and Weir on Saturday. Kimzey is 3-0 on the year.
Left fielder Callie Davis doubled driving in three runs against the Riverside Bulldogs.
Second baseman Courtney True (5) covers the bag as first baseman Breanna Thompson makes a play on a Starkville ground ball. – Photos by Johnny Avant
By Johnny Avant
Contributing Writer
The Water Valley Lady Devils played their home opener and first division game Monday, March 8, against the Independence Lady Wildcats at Crawford Sports Complex.
The Lady Devils jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and added two more runs in the fourth. Leading the way offensively for Water Valley were Ashley Phillips and Mallory Washington. Phillips and Washington each had two hits and one run scored.
Sophomore pitcher Haley Vance and the defense only gave up one run as Vance went the distance on the mound and picked up a huge win, 4-1. The Junior Varsity won a come from behind thriller 8-7, with pitcher Tyler Epes picking up the win improving her record to 3-0.
On Saturday, March 13, the Lady Devils took their 3-0 regular season record to Winona to play in an invitational tournament. In Winona, Water Valley faced the Starkville Lady Yellow Jackets, the Riverside Lady Bulldogs out of Greenville, and the Weir Lady Lions. After an explosion of offense and solid pitching backed up with good defense, the Lady Devils won their three games by a combined score of 39-2 and kept their season perfect at 6-0.
To start the day, Water Valley faced the 6-A Starkville Lady Yellow Jackets. Starkville’s pitchers struggled early and walked the first three batters of the game. When a strike finally crossed the plate, clean-up hitter Haley Vance launched it into the outfield for a double that drove in three runs.
The game was never close and Water Valley cruised to a 15-0 win. The Lady Devils had six doubles in the game, three by Vance, two by shortstop Ashley Phillips, and one by center fielder Anna True. Kelsey Kimzey pitched three shut-out innings and struck out five batters before giving way to Tyler Epes in the fourth inning. Epes retired three consecutive batters, two by strike out, and preserved the shut-out.
Next up for the Lady Devils was the Riverside Lady Bulldogs. Water Valley managed to score two runs in the first inning and two in the second, while pitcher Haley Vance kept the Lady Bulldogs off the scoreboard and the Lady Devils took a four run lead into the third. In the third inning Water Valley’s Ashley Phillips hit her third home run of the season over the left field fence with a runner on base making it a 6-0 game.
Riverside scored a run of their own in the third inning and cut Water Valley’s lead to five. In the fifth inning the Lady Devils put the game away. With the bases loaded and no outs, Left fielder Callie Davis doubled and drove in three runs. Water Valley added five more runs in the inning making it a 14-1 game. Haley Vance went the distance on the mound for the Lady Devils picking up her third win of the year.
In the final game of the tournament, Water Valley faced the Weir Lady Lions. Shortstop Ashley Phillips led the Lady Devils offensively. Phillips singled and scored a run in the first inning, tripled and scored in the second, and doubled in the third. Starting pitcher Kelsey Kimzey gave up one run in the first inning and then kept the Lady Lions off the scoreboard the rest of the way. Tyler Epes again closed the game out retiring three straight batters.
Next up for the Lady Devils will be the New Albany Bulldogs Friday, March 19, at home. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00. The Junior Varsity will play as well. Please come out and support the Lady Devils.
