By By Matthew Nascone
The Escambia County Lady Blue Devils softball team invaded Monroeville Thursday and left with a 9-3 victory.
"This was our best played all-around game of the season," ECHS head coach Jeff Haney said.
Raven Culliver picked up her second win for Big Blue. Culliver (2-3) has picked up every decision for the Blue Devils in 2006 and she has thrown every inning for ECHS.
Against Monroe County Culliver allowed three runs and struck out six batters.
The Lady Devils committed only two errors in the game and this was a good thing, Haney said.
"We had been averaging about five errors a game so to only commit two errors was a high point for us tonight," he said. "We did a good job of getting outs when we needed them and they did a great job defensively."
At the plate Haney said every girl did well. Samantha Smith was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Kim Holland went 2-for-4 at the plate with a walk and two runs scored. Kris Culliver was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored, but Haney said her biggest impact was on defense.
"Kris did a great job at first scooping some low throws out of the dirt for us," Haney said.
Lady Blue also pulled a page from Speedy Gonzalez's book with six stolen bases.
A Feb. 28 game with Excel was not the same story for ECHS as they were defeated 13-4.
"They had a couple big innings and I believe that knocked the wind out of us," Haney said. "But we scored at the end and the girls never quit. That is the important thing and that showed me the character of this team. Them not quitting was definitely the highlight of that game."
Haney said his team did not hit the ball well as a whole and they scattered six hits throughout the game.
Latesha Lee recorded half of the team's hit and run total, as she was 3-for-3 in the game and scored two runs.
"She did a good job on the bases when she got on," Haney said.
The first win of the season for the Lady Blue was achieved on a five-inning blasting of Clarke County on Feb. 23.
"We scored a lot against the young team they fielded," Haney said. "One of our best performances was by our pitcher (Raven Culliver)."
Culliver threw the complete game and allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out six batters. She was also 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI. Brooke Bell also went 3-for-4 at the dish with a double and three RBI.
Haney said the game was not the best defensive game, but a win is a win.
"It is always good to get that first one under your belt," he said. "Our bats were hot and that carried us to victory."
The Lady Devils travel to Gulf Shores March 10 to participate in the Dolphin Classic Tournament. The tournament will include teams from Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 1A-Class 4A and will be on March 10-11.
This tournament will also determine the seeding for the Area 1 tournament at the end of the year, as Jackson, UMS-Wright and Gulf Shores will be in the tournament.
"This should be a fun weekend, but only if the mosquitoes stay away," Haney said.