Longhorns stay in winners bracket in AISA tourney

Published 12:00 am Friday, May 2, 2008

MONTGOMERY &8212; Anna Edmonds stroked a three-run homer in the first inning to lead the Lady Longhorns to a 10-0 victory over Escambia Academy in game one of the AISA Class AA State Championship Tournament at Lagoon Park in Montgomery Friday.

Edmonds&8217; shot was part of a six-run first inning that helped back up Ashley Stokes&8217; four-inning, six-strikeout, three-hit performance. Michelle Pritchett pitched the game&8217;s final inning to get the save.

Marengo moved on to beat rival Patrician 6-1 in its second game of the day. The Saints scored an unearned run in the first before Marengo tied the game in the third.

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Two innings later, the Lady Longhorns rode the rally horse to four runs before adding one more in the sixth.

Edmonds singled to start the fifth-inning rally. Stokes ripped a two-RBI single with the bases loaded to anchor the surge.

Stokes pitched the full seven innings, allowing only three hits and striking out 10 in the game.

Mathis reported Stokes was able to keep her pitch count down, making her more ready for today&8217;s multiple-game action.

Some combination of Stokes and Pritchett will start each of today&8217;s games.

Marengo will face defending champion Lowndes Academy today at 10 a.m. A win in that game would send the girls to the championship round at 2 p.m.

A Longhorn loss would plummet the ladies into the losers bracket where they would need to win three more games in order to claim the championship.