Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the sxith, the Covington Lady Buccs rallied for three runs to take a 6-4 victory over Newton.

May 2, 2007 – COVINGTON
The rivalry between Covington and Newton always draws a crowd and Wednesday's Cross County Conference match-up between the two softball powers was no different.

With cars lining the streets and fans around the fence, the Buccs and Indians treated those in attendance to a thrilling game as Covington came back from a 4-3 deficit to score three runs in the bottom of the sixth to secure the win.

"Newton is such a big rivalry for us and the girls always look forward to this game," said Covington coach Lynette Roeth. "They (Newton) always have a very strong program and this year is no different. They are a really good team."

Coming off of a disappointing loss to Ansonia on Tuesday, Covington had a little extra motivation to get back on the winning track.

"We didn't swing the bat well against Ansonia," Roeth said. "The girls knew they had to swing the bat well tonight because Newton was going to hit the ball."

Covington had problems early against Newton's ace pitcher, Ashley Stewart. The Lady Buccs struck out six times and were held scoreless over the first three innings.

"After the third inning, Craig (Maschino), our assistant coach, had a talk with the girls about being aggressive at the plate," explained Roeth. "We didn't strike out once from the fourth inning on."

As Covington came to bat in the bottom of the fourth, Newton held a 1-0 lead. But the Lady Buccs began putting the bat on the ball and the result was two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead.

Newton wouldn't go quietly as the Lady Indians took the lead right back with two runs in the top of the sixth. Both runs came with two outs after Covington had a fielding error that kept the inning alive.

With their backs against the wall, Covington put together its most profitable inning of the game in the bottom of the sixth.

Erin Christian led off with a fly ball to center that was mishandled. She then moved to second on a sacrifice by Sarah Ciriegio.

Jennifer Lowry drilled a single to put runners at the corners with one out and Kylie Lavey kept the rally going with a double to score Christian and tie the game at 4-4.

Sarah Westfall, who went 2 for 2 on the day, singled to score Lowry and give the Lady Buccs a one-point lead.

Jesie Jennings then increased the cushion to 6-4 with another single to score Lavey.

Newton escaped further damage as it picked up the third out to leave Covington with the bases loaded.

"They (Newton) had a couple of mistakes and we were able to capitalize," Roeth explained. "We've been on the other side of that, where we make the mistakes and the other team takes advantage. This time we were able to turn the tables on them."

Jessica Shrout, who came in relief of Kristin Boggs in the sixth, closed the door on Newton in the seventh despite giving up a double to Sarah Bradley.

Boggs pitched five innings for Covington and recorded three strikeouts while allowing six hits. Shrout picked up the win by pitching the final two innings. She struck out two batters, walked one and allowed three hits.

Jennifer Lowry came up big for Covington by batting 2 for 3 and driving in three runs. Erin Christian and Kylie Lavy each doubled, while Michelle Barhorst went 2 for 4.

The victory improves Covington's record to 10-4 on the season and 7-3 in the Cross County Conference. The Lady Buccs travel to Bethel on Thursday.

Scoring by Innings:
Newton .............1....0....0....0....1....2....0 - 4
Covington ........0....0....0....2....1....3... – – 6