BOONEVILLE, Miss. – Northeast Mississippi Community College's Lady Tiger softball team clinched a berth in the 2013 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) State Softball Tournament with a sweep of Coahoma Community College on Friday, April 26.
Northeast (23-14-1, 15-9 in North Division) knocked off Coahoma 16-1, 12-4 to advance as the fourth seed from the North Division.
Jody Long's Lady Tigers will play the top-ranked South Division team and host Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College on Friday, May 3 in Perkinston.
Against Coahoma, Northeast's sophomore trio – Ellen Tarrant of New Albany, Erin Dixson of Amherst, New York and Andrea Cutts of Ackerman – made sure that Sophomore Day 2013 was a day not to be soon forgotten.
Dixson tossed a complete-game, no-hitter in the opening contest against Coahoma while Cutts went 5-for-6 on the day with five runs scored, six runs batted in, two doubles, a home run, two walks and stole a pair of bases on the day. Tarrant scored a pair of runs, drove in two and walked once while stealing a base against the visiting Lady Tigers.
In the opener, Dixson wasted little time in dispatching Coahoma. Dixson struck out six while walking none on just 57 pitching in earning the win.
Dixson accounted for a total of eight outs in the game including a pair of ground balls back to the pitcher.
Against the visiting Lady Tigers, Dixson only let the opposition hit one flyball while getting six other batters to ground out on the infield.
As Dixson was keeping the Coahoma offense in check, the Lady Tiger offense found its swing to the tune of 14 runs in the first three innings.
Cutts keyed the offensive outburst with a three-run home run while Victoria White and Dana Glissen added an RBI single and sacrifice fly, respectively.
After Coahoma broke the shutout and perfect game bid, Northeast quickly responded with seven runs in the third as the Lady Tigers got RBI singles from Bianca Chagolla and Erin Frazier to go along with sacrifice flies from Tarrant and White.
Gracie Michael capped the inning with her first collegiate home run – a two-run shot in the third.
In the nightcap, Northeast used a big first inning to knock off Coahoma and secure a spot in the MACJC State Tournament.
Northeast rallied for seven runs in its first at bat keyed by Glissen's home run in the top of the frame.
Glissen's home run helped the Kossuth native lead the Lady Tigers in the second game as the Alcorn County native reached base three times, score two runs and drive in two for Northeast.
Coahoma would get within three in the third with a three-run frame as pitcher Kadeja Gray came through with an RBI single and Jessica Hills and Gray both scored during the inning, however, Chagolla was able to get out of the jam with a grounder to end the frame.
Northeast did not take long in responding to Coahoma's rally with four runs during its at bat in the third. Northeast tallied a pair of runs on a Cutts' double and picked up two more runs as Chagolla and Dixson both came through with RBI doubles in the frame.