The Covington Lady Buccs did the little things well and the result was an impressive 10-2 win over Southeastern.

May 9, 2007 – VANDALIA
Covington coach Lynnette Roeth has been waiting for her team to put together an all-around solid game and the Lady Buccs couldn't have picked a better time to honor her wishes.

Covington performed well in all phases of the game on Wednesday in the sectional tournament against Southeastern - recording 13 hits, allowing just five hits, striking out 11 batters and committing just one error.

"We played very well tonight," said a pleased Covington coach. "We hit the ball well, we pitched well and played solid defense."

Roeth knew it would take a balanced effort in order to have success in the tournament. Covington took the first step tonight, but it took some reflection on past seasons for her to make a point to her team.

"We walked through the gym and looked at the banners hanging on the wall," Roeth described. "We asked ourselves what it would take for this team to get a banner up there. It comes down to playing team ball and taking care of the little things. As long as we hit the ball, don't make mistakes in the field and make it hard for the other team to hit the ball, we'll be fine."

Covington's batters made a statement early that they were going to be aggressive at the plate and not take anything for chance. The Lady Buccs scored five runs in the first inning thanks to the hot bats.

"We hit the ball as well tonight as we have all year," Roeth said. "A number of girls had good nights at the plate."

Michelle Barhorst and Kristen Boggs each went 3-for-4 and doubled. Jennifer Lowry and Kylie Lavey went 2-for-3, while Lowry and Sarah Ciriegio each doubled and Katie Dickey had a tripled. Boggs and Lavey each had three RBI.

After Southeastern scored a run in the top of the third, Covington increased its lead to 10-1 with three runs in the third and two more in the fourth.

Meanwhile, Jessica Shrout was dominant on the mound, pitching six innings and recording nine strikeouts. She only walked two batters and gave up four hits.

Kristen Boggs closed the contest in the seventh with two strikeouts.

"Our pitching was pretty good," said Roeth. "Jessica continues to pitch well and it's nice to be able to bring Kristen in and know she'll get the job done."

As pleased as she was with the pitching and hitting, Roeth was even more pleased with the play of her defense.

"They (Southeastern) were hitting the ball hard," explained Roeth. "There were some really hard hit balls at us and our girls chased them down. It wasn't just one person. It was everybody."

As sweet as the victory was, Covington will have little time to enjoy it. The Lady Buccs play Bradford on Friday in a rematch of a regular season contest in which the Lady Railroaders defeated Covington 2-1.

"We have remember that it takes doing the little things well in order to win," Roeth said. "We have to be ready to play."

If they want another banner hanging in the gym.

Scoring by innings:
Southeastern ..............0....0....1....0....0....0....1 - 2
Covington ...................5....0.....3....2....0....0....- – 10