Posted on March 30, 2017.
By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Millington Lady Trojan Marquisha Sanders slides across home plate for the first run of the game against Briarcrest last week.
The Briarcrest Lady Saints came marching into Miles Park in Millington on the first day of Spring to take on the Millington Lady Trojans. And the Lady Saints departed Flag City suffering a 5-3 defeat. Head Coach Whitney Horton’s Lady Trojans took advantage of Briarcrest’s mistakes to earn the two-run victory. “I’m happy for the coaches and I’m also happy for the kids,” Horton said.l “They deserve it and we’ve worked hard. I told them if we execute the little things the wins will come.” The Lady Trojans were paced by senior hurler Jessie Strickland. Horton noted Strickland was amazing hitting locations with sophomore catcher Hannah Clifton. Whenever the Lady Saints tried to rally Strickland and Lady Trojan defenders neutralized Briarcrest. “When the other team hit the ball, she didn’t let it phase her one little bit,” Horton noted. “She went out there and the catcher and pitcher did their jobs.” Players like Millington seniors Marquisha Sanders, Angela Healy, Kasey Gallo, Camilia Irizarry, Jessica Trice and Ashley Hernandez did their jobs in the field to help the Lady Trojans jump ahead 2-0 in the first inning. Sanders scored the first run after drawing a walk. Sanders made a couple of steals leading to her taking home plate to make the score 1-0. Then Lady Trojans Paige Hall took a similar path home reaching first base after a walk. Horton called for a double steal later leading to Hall taking home making the tally 2-0. By the third inning Briarcrest tied the game at 2-2. In the fourth inning Millington regain the lead with a pair of runs. The Lady Trojans added a run in the fifth inning to make the score 5-2. Briarcrest tried one more rally in the seventh inning scoring one run. But Millington held on for the home opening victory. Proudly on display at the home of the Lady Trojans are seven banners identifying the seniors. Horton said those images were a direct reflection on the field opening night. “Leadership,” she said. “The leadership was there. When we come up to bat one of them might not get a hit but you would hear in the dugout, ‘Keep your head up. You’ll get them the next time. Don’t let it phase you out there on the field.’ “One thing we talk about is quick amnesia,” Horton added. “You’ve got to forget the bad things that you do because it will carry over on the offense or defense. We’ve done a real good job of forgetting what we do wrong and doing something good on the offensive end.” Horton said her girls will build on the victory and get back to their hitting ways as the weather continues to heat up.
“We just need too learn to hit the ball when we have runners in scoring position,” Horton concluded. “We’re a hitting team but we only had one hit tonight. We took advantage of the other team’s mistakes. Whatever you’ve got to do to get a W across the broad.”
