March 11, 2020

A walk-off single by sophomore left fielder Olivia Houston helped the No. 14 East Central Lady Warriors survive a wild afternoon at the Softball Park in Decatur Tuesday, March 10, and earn a doubleheader sweep over the Marion Military Lady Tigers.

Houston’s single helped the Lady Warriors win the nightcap 8-7 after winning game one 18-14 on an afternoon that saw 47 runs, 44 hits, and 11 home runs by both teams combined.

With the wins, East Central improves to 14-4 on the season. The visitors from Marion, Ala., are 18-11.

It was the sixth time this season the two teams have met on the diamond, with each winning three of those contests.

East Central trailed 7-6 entering the bottom of the seventh in game two. A two-out run-scoring double by freshman second baseman Landree Amis (Newton County) tied the game before Houston (Northwest Rankin) won it with her walk-off hit. Houston tallied five RBI in the game on three hits, including a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. Amis had a single to go with her double.

Only three of Marion’s runs were earned in the game as the Lady Warriors committed five errors.

The wild game one lasted three hours as the two teams combined for 32 runs and nine home runs. East Central’s big inning was an 11-run fourth. Marion scored five times in the fourth and seven times in the fifth.

Houston had seven RBI in the opener to give her 12 on the afternoon on seven hits. Two of her four hits in the opener were over the wall, a three-run homer in the second and a solo shot in the sixth. She also brought in three runs with a triple in the big fourth inning. Freshman first baseman Zharia Richardson (Harrison Central) and sophomore catcher Anna McNeer (Canton Academy) each had two-run home runs, and sophomore designated hitter Annabell Watkins (Leake Academy) had a solo homer. Amis had two RBI in the win.

East Central will play its next eight games on the road, including a pair of contests on Saturday, March 14, in Alabama. The Lady Warriors will face Coastal Alabama-North at 1 p.m. and then Wallace State-Hanceville at 3 p.m. on the Coastal Alabama campus in Monroeville.