Ridgeland pitcher Morgan Crawford crosses first base after a line drive to the mound. Heritage's Katie Proctor (16) reaches for the throw.On a night when emotions were high, the Ridgeland High School softball team kept its focus and came away with an important regular-season victory.
The host Lady Panthers hit early and often in completing a season sweep of Heritage, 6-2, in a game that was delayed a week due to the death of Heritage coach Jason Carter's daughter, Katie Beth, in an automobile accident 10 days ago.
Carter was back in the dugout Wednesday, but even the coach's presence couldn't slow the red-hot Lady Panthers (11-4, 8-1 Region 6-AAAA), who pounded out 10 hits and rode their trio of seniors to a win that puts them within a victory of clinching the top seed in the upcoming region tournament.
"I hate it for Jason," said Ridgeland coach Richie Wood, who was part of a postgame ceremony in which the school donated to a fund set up to help defray the Carters' expenses. "He's a great guy and he will make something positive out of the very bad negative that's taken place in his family's lives.
"I'm happy for my girls. I told them all along we expected to be here, and now they've taken another step in proving they belong."
Senior catcher Cortney Mooneyham struck the game's first big blow, a two-run triple that just got under the glove of charging Shayla Ludy in the second inning.
Fellow senior Allison Wallin drove in the third run with a fourth-inning single and, after a Mooneyham double to open the sixth, Wallin drover her home one out later before freshman Kiera Foster's two-run double put Ridgeland up 6-0.
The runs were more than enough for senior pitcher Morgan Crawford, who did not give up a hit until Sydney Smith's leadoff single in the fifth. She left after one out in the seventh as Wallin took over and silenced a Heritage rally that netted a pair of runs.
"This is a long time coming," Mooneyham said of the Lady Panthers closing in on the top seed for 6-AAAA. "All the long work we've put in, the countless hours, all paid off tonight. We're going to bring it home.
"A region title would be an absolute blessing to me. Last year we set our goals too high, saying that we were going to win state and all that. This year, as seniors, we set smaller goals. We want to reach the elite eight in Columbus and then go from there."
Wood, a fourth-year coach, was proud of how much of an impact his three seniors had Wednesday and for the past few seasons.
"They talk about family, and that's what we are," he said. "We had to start here with a foundation, and Allison and Mooney were the foundation, and now Morgan has stepped in and become a good cornerstone as well. We still need to get better in order to go deep at Columbus, but the girls are very hungry to make it happen."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.