SB: No.25 Rusk halts CHS win streak, 5-0
The No.25-ranked Rusk Lady Eagles scored five unearned runs, taking advantage of six Lady Rider errors in a 5-0 victory at Lady Eagle Field in Rusk on Tuesday in a District 18-3A softball matchup.
Center dropped to 15-14 on the season as the Lady Riders had their three-game winning streak snapped. CHS fell to 5-6 in district play with three games remaining in the season. Rusk, which dropped in this week's rankings although the Lady Eagles are still in third place in 18-3A, remained in the playoff chase with the win.
The Lady Riders still have two huge 18-3A contests coming up. Center will visit No.15 Carthage on Friday (junior varsity at 4:30 p.m. and varsity at 6:30 p.m.) and then host Hudson next Tuesday. Center will close out the season at No.1-ranked Huntington on April 23. Huntington and Carthage are currently tied for the league lead with identical 10-1 records.
Center, which went on the win streak with the help of outstanding defensive play, struggled in that capacity against the Lady Eagles.
"Our defense surprised me tonight," stated Center Head Coach Christie Benton. "We just weren't our solid selves. Our outfield maintained their defensive consistency - Kelsey Owens, Destiny Russell and Michaela Schulz.
"Now we'll just have to fine tune some things in practice, recover and play tough against Carthage on Friday."
Rusk scored five runs on eight hits, while committing no errors, and the Lady Riders recorded three hits during the contest.
Ashley Schulz hit the ball hard, recording a pair of doubles - one of which went off the outfield wall. Michaela Schulz singled for the other Center hit.
Cassidy Rainbolt worked in the circle. She allowed eight hits, no walks and no earned runs and was praised by Benton for continuing to work hard even though the defense behind her struggled.