APRIL 13, 2011 - COVINGTON
The much-anticipated match-up between Covington and Miami East was delayed a day, but it was well worth the wait as the host Buccaneers and Vikings put on an impressive display of softball Wednesday evening.

"That was two good teams going at it," said Covington coach Dean Denlinger. "Can't ask for much more than that."

And when the dust settled, it was Covington who held on for a 3-1 win - even after Miami East outhit the Lady Buccs 10 to 5 in the contest.

"That's a very talented offensive lineup that can put up a lot of runs," Denlinger said of Miami East. "They are very well coached by Brian (Kadel) and the kids play hard for him."

Miami East was also determined to the very end.

"What impressed me most was their attitudes," Denlinger continued. "Not once did they get down on themselves. They had all the confidence in the world that they were going to come back and win the game in the seventh inning. Hopefully our girls learned something there."

Trailing 3-0 in their final at bat, Miami East scored a run and had runners at second and third with one out.

But a heads-up play at third base changed the momentum back into Covington's favor as Heidi Snipes snagged a well hit ball down the line and made a perfect throw to first after checking the runner.

"That was a huge play by Snipes," said Denlinger. "She made a nice stop on the ball, froze the runner and made a nice throw across the grain. That was a tough throw."

The fact that Snipes was in position to make the play was due to Denlinger having a gut feeling in regards to setting up the defensive alignment.

"The pitch before that we were in Cincinnati, which had Snipes defending against the bunt," Denlinger explained. "I switched to our base defense because I had a feeling they were going to swing away. I'm glad they did because I don't think we would have been able to get the runner if they put down a bunt."

Covington then sealed the game as Connor Schaffer snagged a short pop-up in front of the plate.

"We played a very nice game defensively," said Denlinger. "We only struck out five batters, so they put a lot of balls in play. We played error-free ball and that's what we needed to beat a good team like that."

Covington also needed the big fourth inning, which resulted in all three of its runs.

Aubrye Cain reached on an error to open the inning and then Jessie Shilt moved Cain to second on a sacrifice.

Connor Schaffer was hit by a pitch and Hannah Pond singled to load the bases with one out.

Snipes came up big with a two-run single and Shell followed with another single to score Pond.

"Three of our five hits came in that inning," Denlinger explained. "We only struck out twice and made pretty good contact all night, but they played a great defensive game."

Shell picked up the win for Covington as she struck out five in going the distance.

Maddison Linn also went the distance for Miami East, as she struck out two and allowed just five hits on the night.

Covington remains unbeaten at 9-0 and 3-0 in the CCC, while Miami East drops to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in the league.

SCORING BY INNINGS:
Miami East ..........0..0..0..0..0..0..1 - 1 - 10 - 2
Covington ............0..0..0..3..0..0..x - 3 - 5 - 0