Hill, Jackson lead the charge for Du Quoin in 5-1 win over Harrisburg

Mackenzie Jackson and Chloe Hill led the way for the Du Quoin Lady Indians Wednesday evening as they picked up a 5-1 run over Harrisburg. <br />Jackson kept the Lady Bulldogs off balance all day at the plate, taking a no-hitter into fifth inning, surrendering just three hits and four walks, while striking out four. <br />"She didn't seem like she had the curveball working, but she got the fastball going and the screwball to keep them off balance a little bit," Du Quoin head coach Jason James said. "She did a good job and the defense behind her didn't give up an error so we played well behind."<br />Harrisburg starting pitcher Alli Ferrel was tagged early, as Katie Smith and Jackson led off the first inning with single up the middle and bunt single, respectively. <br />Ferrel retired the next two batters, but Chloe Hill came up in the clutch with a single up the middle to score Smith and Jackson to give Du Quoin a 2-0 lead.<br />"Chloe had a nice day," James said. "That was huge in the first inning (driving in two runs). <br />"I don't think there has been a first inning yet this year we have been winning. Usually we are coming up from behind, so for her to give us that lead there (was big)."<br />The Lady Bulldogs managed to cut the deficit in half in the top of the fourth, despite not recording a hit. <br />Abby Dalton led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Madeline Rider. <br />Dalton advanced to third on a stolen base, while Essence Sanders drew a walk with two-outs in the inning. From there, Sanders and Dalton executed a double steal as Sanders drew a throw from the catcher and was safe at second to allow Dalton to take home, cutting the Du Quoin lead to 2-1. <br />While a tricky situation, James took the blame for the play.<br />"We had a play on, we just ended up in the wrong spot," James said. "It's something we are working on. We are a young group trying to figure some things out, what we can do and what we can't do. <br />"But, that was my fault on that one. We should have held it and got the fly ball out (the next batter) and got out of the inning."<br />Harrisburg's Gillian Jones spoiled Jackson no-hit bid in the fifth with an infield single with two outs. McKenzie Sullivan followed up with a single of her own, but Jackson escaped the inning inducing a fly-out to left. <br />The Lady Indians tacked on three insurance runs in the fifth, with Hill picking up her third RBI of the game to go along with RBI doubles from Jackson and Grace Haney. "Haney getting (that) RBI with a double was big for us," James said. "Hopefully we can keep that going."<br />Essence Sanders picked up a two-out single in the sixth, but Harrisburg failed to get anymore offense from there as Jackson retired the last four batters she faced to pick up her sixth win on the season. <br />Du Quoin (7-3) will resume action Saturday as they host a round robin with Elverado and Trico Saturday at 11 a.m., while Harrisburg will to travel to take on Crab Orchard Thursday at 4:30 p.m.