Lady Eagles defeat Center 10-1
Rusk clinches playoff spot with win over Lady Riders
BY LELAND ACKER STAFF WRITER

Rusk senior Rachel Hicks hits the ball during Rusk's 10-1 win over the Center Lady Riders Tuesday. Rusk (17-9-2, 9-4) has clinched a playoff spot and finishes the regular season on Friday against Central. PHOTO LYNN LITTLEJOHN

The Lady Eagle defense stepped up and assisted pitcher Callie Collins during Rusk's 10-1 win over the Center Lady Riders Tuesday in Rusk.

Collins struck out seven batters, allowed six hits and walked one batter, holding Center scoreless until the 5th inning. She also caught a pop-fly, fielded a grounder making the throw to 1st and forced Center to strand seven runners on base. Offensively, Collins was 2-3 from the plate with two runs scored.

The Rusk outfield also contributed, with Calah Clark, Jerri Hill and Cami Curtis all making key catches.

The Lady Eagle infield was equally devastating to the Lady Riders, with all players contributing to the defensive effort.

Second baseman Sierra Smith caught two pop-flies, while short-stop Alison Bowling made a key catch in the 5th inning.

Catcher Kristen Joyner caught a pop-up in the 3rd inning, but the biggest catch of the evening came in the 5th inning when 1st baseman Hillary Hugghins snatched a fly-ball out of the air to end the inning. Hugghins catch stranded two base runners and shut down a potential Center rally.

Offensively, the Lady Eagles were very effective, especially during the 2nd and 3rd innings.

Collins led-off in the 2nd inning with a single, then scored after Hugghins' deep fly into right field was dropped. Rachel Mahaffey was walked before working her way around the bases for a score.

The Lady Eagles were able to capitalize on several Center errors, scoring three runs in the 2nd inning and six runs in the 3rd.

Lead hitters for Rusk include Hillary Hugghins, who scored twice, got one hit and got on base by an error in only three trips to the plate. Rachel Mahaffey hit a double in the 3rd inning, got on base by a walk in the 2nd inning and scored twice.

Curtis went 2-3 with one run scored. Rachel Hicks went 1-2 with one run scored. Clark went 1-4 with one run scored and Bowling went 1-4 with one run scored.

Rusk (17-9-2, 9-4) has clinched a playoff spot as the 3rd-seeded team in District 20-AAA. They wrap up regular season play at 6:30 p.m. Friday against Central at Central High School's softball field in Pollock.

Eagle baseball chalks one

up against Center

The Rusk Eagle baseball team chalked up a key win against Center Tuesday by a score of 17-9.

Lead hitters were Pax Richey (2-2), Adam Hicks (2-3, two doubles), Chance Davis (2-3 and a double) and Cody Daniel (2-4). Davis was the winning pitcher for Rusk.

Rusk (5-5) maintains a shot at the playoffs if they win three out of their last four games.