Lady Eagles win 5 of 6 in Longview Tourney; improve record to 19-2

PHOTO: LYNN LITTLEJOHN Rusk's Christa Adams delivers a blast during this past weekend's game against Hooks. The Lady Eagles went 5-1 over the weekend to improve to 19-2 on the season. Rusk opened district play last night against Diboll. Consistency is key in a long season.

For the second consecutive week, the Rusk Lady Eagle softball team traveled to Longview to take part in a tournament.

For the second consecutive week, the Lady Eagles finished the weekend 5-1.

If Rusk kept that trend up over the next 12 games, Rusk would go into the final two games of the season at 29-4 with a district record of 10-2.

That's still a long way off.

In the meantime, rewind to this past weekend, when the Lady Eagles performed well in the Longview Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) Tournament, defeating five out of their six opponents to up their record to 19-2.

The tournament was a large one, with a decent number of teams playing on five fields at Longview's Lear Park.

Other schools in the tournament included Pine Tree, Marshall,

Hooks, Linden-Kildare, Elysian Fields, Tatum and Louisiana softball powerhouse Evangel Christian Academy (Shreveport).

Evangel hands Rusk 2nd loss

on year

The Lady Eagles (of Rusk) would receive their only defeat on the weekend thanks to the Lady Eagles (of Shreveport).

Evangel picked up a 6-1 victory over Rusk, scoring more runs against the red and black than any other team has on the season.

Evangel, who came into the tournament at 12-0-1, advanced to the state softball playoffs last season as the number one seed in Louisiana Class 2A before losing in an upset to St. John in the second round.

5 games, 5 wins

The Lady Eagles took on Linden-Kildare twice, winning both over the Lady Tigers, 6-1 and 9-5.

Rusk also continued its winning streak over 4A schools by defeating Pine Tree 5-1 and Marshall 9-1.

On the season, the Lady Eagles have taken on six 4A schools in eight games, playing Marshall and Henderson twice. The team has won all eight games.

The team also picked up a 6-2 victory over Hooks.

Rusk started district play last night on the road as the Lady Eagles traveled to Diboll to take on the Lady Jacks. The teams have already met once this season, with Rusk picking up a 12-0 victory in the Ark-La-Tex Sports Tourism Tournament at the end of February.

"I'm very excited to get started and I have a good feeling going into district," said Rusk Head Coach Ashley McElroy-Christian.

"I feel that we have played great competition to prepare us for our tough district. It's going to be an exciting season."