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Mikkola's big day at plate helps lift Lady Pioneers
Cox hurls shutout in tournament playoff win
Emily-MikkolaWEB
Emily Mikkola looks to lay down a bunt during action last week against Cumberland County. Mikkola and the Lady Pioneers defeated the host Stone Memorial Lady Panthers 11-0 Friday night in the first round of the district tournament at Stone Memorial High School.

The Warren County High School softball team started its district tournament playoff with a bang by crushing the host Stone Memorial Lady Panthers, 11-0, at Stone Memorial High School on Friday night. With the win, the Lady Pioneers advanced to the quarterfinals of the district tournament.
The Lady Pioneers were considered the home team because they were the higher seed.
Emily Mikkola was a huge part in the win, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a run scored. Senior Lindsey Cox earned the win on the mound, in a dominating performance, shutting out the Lady Panthers, allowing three hits and striking out seven Lady Panther batters.
Cox sat down the Lady Panthers quickly in the top of the first inning and the Lady Pioneers gained momentum from the host team in the bottom of the inning. The Lady Pioneers scored on a fielder’s choice by the Lady Panthers, 1-0, after one.
The Lady Panthers managed to get two runners on base in the top of the second inning but didn’t put any runs on the scoreboard. Abby Hutchins came up first in the bottom of the inning and crushed a solo homerun over the leftfield fence, extending the lead, 2-0.
Cox continued to roll on the mound as the Lady Panthers went down in order. Mikkola’s RBI single in the bottom of the inning had the Lady Pioneers up by three, 3-0, after three.
The Lady Panthers continued to struggle at the plate in the top of the fourth and the Lady Pioneer lead widened in the bottom of the inning. The Lady Pioneers scored five runs in the bottom of the inning thanks to RBI singles by Cox, Ty Ramirez and Mikkola and errors by the Lady Panthers, leading to two Lady Pioneer runs, 8-0.
Both teams failed to get any runs on the board in the fifth and after the Lady Panthers went down yet again in the top of the sixth, the Lady Pioneers put the game away for good. A Mikkola RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the inning put the Lady Pioneers up, 9-0.  Skyler Youngblood came up a batter later and hit a 2-RBI double, sending the Lady Pioneers to the next round courtesy of the run rule, 11-0.