Lady Gamecocks compete in Wicksburg tournament

The New Brockton Lady Gamecocks hit the road and competed in the 2020 Wicksburg Softball Tournament on March 6-7.

Before tournament action began, the Lady Gamecocks picked up a wild 17-11 win over Geneva County on Tuesday, March 3.

The Lady Gamecocks didn’t waste any time to get the party started as Bailey Blackmon belted a two-run home run that also drove Mary Beth Smith home in the top of the first inning to give New Brockton a 2-0 lead. Geneva County earned two runs in the bottom of the inning to tie things up, however.

The Lady Gamecocks couldn’t muster up any runs in the top of the second inning but Geneva County scored three in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-2 lead.

Another scoreless inning for New Brockton was followed up by another run for Geneva County in the bottom of the third inning to stretch the lead out to 2.

The scoring then really got hot as New Brockton warmed up in the top of the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, a walk drove Kiersten Sunday home to cut Geneva County’s lead to 6-3 and then McKenlie Jerkins singled with a pop fly to right field to drive both Megan Eldridge and Paula McKenna home and cut the lead to 6-5.

With the bases loaded again, two consecutive walks drove Smith and Jerkins home and then Eldridge got beaned by a pitch to drive Kennedy Hussey home and give New Brockton an 8-6 lead.

Geneva County answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to retake the lead 9-8 but that lead didn’t last long.

In the top of the fifth inning, Smith hit a line drive double into center field to drive both McKenna and Lizzy Everts home and give New Brockton a 10-9 lead.

Blackmon singled on a ground ball into left field to drive Smith home and then Jerkins and Hussey scored on passed ball errors to extend the Gamecock lead to 13-9.

Geneva County scored one run in the bottom of the fifth to cut New Brockton’s lead to 13-10.

In the top of the sixth inning, Madison Meeks scored on a passed ball error and then Jerkins drove McKenna home on a sacrifice fly as New Brockton’s lead stretched to 15-10. Shelby Hobbs singled on a line drive into center field to drive Smith home and extend the lead to 16-10.

Geneva County cut the New Brockton lead to 16-11 in the bottom of the sixth inning, and in the top of the seventh Hussey doubled on a ground ball into left field to drive McKenna home and stretch the lead to 17-11.

With just one shot left for the Lady Bulldogs, the Lady Gamecocks secured the win with three consecutive outs in the bottom of the seventh.

The Lady Gamecocks had a big day at the plate as a team with 13 total hits and nine walks. McKenna led the way going 3-for-4 with four runs, while Bailey Blackmon went 2-for-2 with a home run, three RBIs and one run.

Smith went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and four runs, while Jerkins went 1-for-2 with three RBIs and two runs.

Jerkins also pitched one and 2/3 innings with one strikeout, while giving up seven hits and five runs.

In the Wicksburg Invitational, New Brockton went 1-2 with a 10-2 loss to Brantley and 6-5 loss to Houston Academy. The Lady Gamecocks also picked up a 5-1 win over Elba.

Blackmon, Jerkins and Hussey each had one hit against Brantley with Hussey and Megan Eldridge scoring one run each.

Blackmon pitched three innings and struck out six batters, while giving up eight hits and 10 runs.

Meeks went 2-for-2 with a run against Houston Academy, while Hussey went 2-for-3 with her first career home run, one RBI and two runs. Smith, Hobbs and McKenna each had one hit with McKenna and Kinsley Owens scoring one run each.

Jerkins pitched all five innings with two strikeouts, while giving up 10 hits and six runs.

Elba and New Brockton battled it out to a 0-0 tie heading into the fourth inning when the Lady Tigers secured a run in the top of the fourth to take a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Smith scored on a passed ball error to tie the score 1-1 and then Jerkins drilled a ground ball triple into center field to drive Everts home and give New Brockton a 2-1 lead over her former school.

Sunday doubled to drive Jerkins home and then Meeks hit a line drive double into left field to send Sunday home. Finally, Meeks scored on a passed ball error for New Brockton’s fifth run of the inning as New Brockton picked up the 5-1 win.

Meeks, Sunday, Jerkins, Blackmon and Smith each had one hit against Elba. Smith, Jerkins, Sunday, Meeks and Everts scored one run each.

Blackmon picked up the win in the circle pitching all four innings and striking out four batters, while giving up just three hits and one run. The one run came on an infield error, however.