West Memphis Lady Devils softball off to hot start

West Memphis begins 2021 season 4-0 in dominating fashion

THE TIMES SPORTS STAFF

news@theeveningtimes.com

You can’t win them all if you don’t win the first one. And it doesn’t hurt if you win three more after that.

And that’s just what the West Memphis Lady Devils softball team has done. The girls are off to a 4-0 start to the season with victories over Barton, Forrest City, Blytheville and Marked Tree.

The Lady Devils crushed Barton 21-1 to open the season, getting three hits apiece from Kayla Shaull, Carlie Steele, Maya Cody and Tayler Brossett on a chilly afternoon with spitting sleet and temperatures in the mid-30s.

As cold as it was, the Lady Devils’ bats were hot. Leadoff hitter Kolby Garey scored four runs and had two hits and two RBI while Shaull and Steele drove in a team-high six runs apiece. Other players with two hits included Lauren Walls and Lakiyah Hatchett. Cody went three innings to get the pitching victory.

The Lady Devils also pounded Forrest City 173, getting hits from Cody, Walls and Hatchett. Cody pitched four innings of one-hit ball for the win, striking out 6. West Memphis’ third lopsided victory was a 19-0 decision over Blytheville as Garey, Shaull, Steele, Brossett and Walls all hit safely. Cody once again pitched three innings of one-hit, shutout ball with six strikeouts.

Then last Thursday, the Lady Devils were tested early for the first time all season. Cody gave up three runs in the second inning (two unearned off a throwing error) putting the Lady Devils in a 3-3-tie with Marked Tree going into the third inning. But the Devils bats came alive late and Cody held tough from the pitcher’s circle. Eventually, the mercy rule came into effect as West Memphis eclipsed a 12-run lead in the fifth, winning by a final score of 15-3 to stay hot.

The only thing that could stop the Devils’ winning ways was Mother Nature. Monday’s game against Blytheville was postponed due to rain.

Pitcher Maya Cody has pitched the Lady Blue Devils to a 4-0 start this season.

Photos by Ralph Hardin

Strike three, and the tag makes it official.