Lady Warriors Win Marion Softball Invite
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Du Quoin (Middle School) secured its best start ever in girls softball
Saturday.
The Lady Warriors also walked away from the area¹s biggest invitational
tournament as a first-time champion.
DMS won four games and swept the 16-team Marion Lady Wildcats Invitational,
ending Carterville¹s four-year run as champions.
Victories over Herrin (5-2), Cobden (4-0), Carterville (5-3) and Marion
(6-0) secured the title as Cassidy Rice pitched all 24 innings of the
tournament.
Rice, 4-0, whiffed 34 batters and scattered just a dozen hits. She allowed
just one earned run.
"Cassidy Rice just did an outstanding job on the mound all day,² DMS coach
Jason James said. "We played great defense and some girls come up with some big hits."
Against Herrin‹the team many had pegged as the pre-tourney favorite‹Rice
carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
Striking out 10, Rice also had two extra basehits. Kelsey Robinson added two
hits and two RBI.
Rebekah Maddox knocked in two more runs.
Aubrey Davis, Kate Toler and Bri Green all hit safely.
DMS raced ahead with a three-run first inning.
In round two, Rice struck out eight with a three-hitter to blank Cobden.
Hadley Marek‹who caught every inning of the tourney for DMS‹singled twice
and knocked home two runs. Davis (RBI), Carley Hill, Rice and Green
contributed hits.
DMS trailed 3-1in the fifth inning against Carterville before rallying to
victory.
Scoring three times in the frame, the Lady Warriors busted in front for good
on RBI hits by Amanda Williams and Green.
Robinson ended the game 3-for-4 with two RBI. Hill, Marek and Green all
enjoyed two-hit efforts.
Rice, Maddox and Williams hit safely. Rice scattered four hits and struck
out seven.
Three of the Carterville hits were of the infield variety.
Marion threatened against DMS and Rice early in the championship game,
loading the bases with one out in the second.
Rice bounced back strong with a strikeout and then induced a ground ball to
Maddox at first base, ending Marion¹s hopes.
DMS then scored three times in its half of the inning, all but securing the
championship.
Marek, Maddox and Rebekah Woodside all singled with Green¹s two-run hit
pushing the margin to 3-0.
In the fifth, DMS added three more runs, two coming on RBI doubles by
Williams and Hill.
Rice gave three hits and fanned nine while working around four walks.
At the plate, eight different Lady Warriors recorded at least one hit.
Marek and Green had two apiece. Davis and Kate Toler notched safeties.
Marion- with an enrollment at least triple of Du Quoin's- had rolled to the title with three consecutive shutouts, outscoring its opposition 33-0.
"All the girls should be very proud of themselves because I am very proud of
them," said James. "We played very well and hopefully can build on this."
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