Neshoba Central (31-2) continued to dominate the MHSAA Class 5A fast-pitch softball scene with 4-3 and 17-1 victories over Wayne County for a seventh consecutive championship.
Mississippi State signee Aspen Wesley has been the pitching mainstay for the Lady Rockets over the past six years. She was 24-2 as a senior, with a 0.23 ERA and 335 strikeouts in 154 innings. She also batted .409 with four homers and 36 RBIs.
CLASS 6A – Desoto Central (26-5) also repeated as champion in softball, rebounding from a 7-3 loss to Brandon in the title series opener with 4-3 and 6-4 victories. Kaitlyn Bednarek had a triple and two RBIs in the decisive game.
CLASS 4A – Newton County (29-7) swept Tishomingo County by identical scores of 5-4. The Lady Cougars overcame a 4-2 deficit in the first game with one run in the sixth and two in the seventh. Landree Amis had a double and triple, drove in two runs and scored twice.
CLASS 3A – South Pontotoc (22-4-1) defeated Choctaw Central in the series opener 7-6 in eight innings, dropped the second game 3-2, then won the championship with a 3-1 victories. South Pontotoc trailed 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh of the first game, but tied the score on a base loaded triple by Rebekah Pilcher. After Choctaw Central scored two runs in the top of the eight, South Pontotoc scored three times in the bottom of the inning.
Choctaw Central reached the championship series despite finishing with a losing record (17-18).
CLASS 2A – Behind the pitching of Nia Luckett, Philadelphia (18-6) rebounded from an 8-4 loss to Enterprise in the series opener with 10-0 and 1-0 victories. Luckett gave up one hit in the second game and six in the decisive contest, while totaling 15 strikeouts.
CLASS 1A – Vardaman (28-5) swept Smithville 12-1 in five innings and 14-4 in six innings. Vardaman had 28 hits in the two games, including two homers by Sarah Wooten and one by Maddie Terrell.
The 2A, 4A and 6A championship series were played at the University of Southern Mississippi, 1A, 3A and 5A at Mississippi State.
