Monday's Prep Softball: Lady Indians edge past Sparta

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Freshman Cassidy Rice twirled a four-hitter and knocked in the winning run with an eighth inning single Monday afternoon, lifting Du Quoin High School's Girls Softball team to a 5-4 victory on Lefty Pyle Field.

The Lady Indians (8-2) continued one of their best starts in recent memory by opening River-to-River Conference play with a Mississippi Division win.

Sparta is 7-2, 0-1.

At 4:30 Tuesday, Du Quoin hosts Chester.

"We played well today," Lady Tribe coach Jason James said. "Cassidy Rice pitched well and we came up some timely hits. I am very proud of these girls and how they competed."

Du Quoin jumped ahead 1-0 in the second inning when Jessica Hirsch doubled and score on Kelsey Toler's two-bagger.

Sparta touched Rice (4-1) for a pair of tallies in the third before the Lady Indians jumped back on top when Heather Cavins bombed a two-run home run to dead centerfield.

The lead reached 4-2 before Sparta forced overtime with a two-run seventh.

In the eighth, DHS won the game when Rice singled home Hirsch with one out. Hirsch was placed on second base to start the frame under the International Tie-Breaker rule.

Rice had pitched out of a runner at third and one out jam in the top of the inning.

"Sparta had way too many free bases with errors, walks and hit batters," James said. "But we played through it and came away with the win."

Rice, Toler and Cavins had two-hit games with Hirsch, Ashley Hess, Chelsea Hill and Kelsey Robinson all hitting safely.

Rice fanned seven but walked six and hit two batters.

Only two of Sparta's runs were earned.

The Lady Indians (2-0) won the junior varsity contest, 9-0, behind he pitching of Michaela Brown,

Du Quoin 5, Sparta 4

Sparta 002 000 20-4 4 1

DHS 012 001 01-5 10 3

Rice and Cavins. WP-Rice, 4-1. LP-Robison. TOP HITTERS-DHS: Hirsch 1-4 (2B), Rice 2-3 (2B, RBI), Toler 2-4 (2B, 2 RBI), Hess 1-3, Hill 1-3, Cavins 2-4 (HR, 2 RBI), Robinson 1-3.