Lady Comets drop first game to Belle Chasse, pass the test in game two with victory

BY DAVID FOLSE II

Sports Editor

LAPLACE-In High School athletics, coaches have to deal with a lot of things.

Players, parents, fans, alumni, administration and college entrance exams to name a few.

Though he will never use it as an excuse, St. Charles Catholic Head Coach David Lowry had to deal with a large number of his players out of their first game in a double-header against Belle Chase due to the ACT testing this past Saturday morning.

The Lady Comets lost the first game, 9-2 to Belle Chase before coming back in game two, 5-4 behind a game-winning RBI single from Mary Clement in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The split over Belle Chase leaves St. Charles Catholic with only a single game Wednesday at home against Covington and the 2005 regular season is concluded.

12-15-1 overall heading into the game against the Lady Lions Wednesday, the Lady Comets are more importantly 6-2 in district 10-3A, good for second place and a spot in the Class 3A playoffs.

Missing several players in game one due to the ACT testing that morning, the story of the game was errors for St. Charles Catholic as the Lady Comets committed seven errors in the first game with most of the starters not in the lineup.

Brittany Marsh was the hitting star of game one for St. Charles Catholic, going 2-3 at the plate.

Looking to just get some work in Saturday afternoon, Clement took the loss in the circle for the Lady Comets.

In game two, it was Clement’s bat that did the talking along with her teammate Felicia Taylor.

Taylor finished game two a perfect 3-3 at the plate and had a pair of runs driven in.

With the game tied at four heading into the bottom of the seventh, it was Clement’s turn for redemption with her bat as she knocked home the game-winning run on a hit, her first of the game.

Taylor and Clement”s bats were amply complimented by a phenomenal start int eh circle from Holly Vicknair.

Picking up the complete-game victory, Vicknair allowed only four runs on four hits to run her record to 2-3 on the season.

“We didn’t really play very well in game one,” St. Charles Catholic Head Coach David Lowry said. “We made a lot of errors, didn’t hit the ball really well.

“In game two, we played good defense, hit the ball and got a solid performance in the circle from Holly.”

Lowry said his squad must carry the momentum from the second game into the stretch run and the playoffs.

“If we come out with the same intensity and play like we did in the second game we have the chance for a lot of success coming up,” Lowry said.