Sophomore Taylor Hale and freshman Cori Newton combined on a no-hitter in Wednesday's opener. Hale started and went five innings to get the win; she threw 38 pitches, struck out seven and walked one. Newton pitched the final two frames in her first game at SHS; the former Spring Hill standout needed just 19 pitches, striking out three and walking one.
The two walks allowed were the only Lumberton runners to reach base. Scotland's infield, starting four freshmen and two sophomores, played error-free softball.
"Everybody played at least two innings," said SHS head coach Joel McCanna, whose Lady Scots were 22-1 with an overwhelmingly dominant season in 2008. "Everybody got to play, every girl got a chance to swing the bat.
"I'm not quite settled on a starting lineup. What we had out there tonight was close to it, but we wanted to give everybody a chance to show what they could do in this first game."
The Lady Scots scored once in the first inning, five times in the second, three times in the third and twice more in the fourth to cap the scoring. Newton was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored to lead Scotland at the plate.
Tiffany Sessoms, Courtney Collins and Hale all went 1-for-2 with a double, and Sessoms scored a pair of runs.
McCanna thinks this year's team — made up of six sophomores and seven freshmen — could be as good as last year's.
"This team looks as strong," said McCanna. "With the pitching we have ... Taylor Hale and Cori Newton, they throw the ball as hard as Jessica Milligan and they have great control.
"Last year, nobody we played had the kind of pitching we had, and it could be the same this season."
Scotland travels to face Purnell Swett on Friday at 5 p.m.
Note: The SHS jayvee baseball team’s game at Lumberton was postponed on Wednesday and will be played today at 5 p.m.
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