Middle School Lady Cougars Win Opener

Piedmont Academy’s Middle School softball has plenty of potential as the 2012 season begins.

The Lady Cougars defeated John Milledge 2-1 Friday as O’Neil Sealy earned the win by pitching six innings and recording four strikeouts. She scattered four hits as JMA managed just one run.

Offensively, Lauren Mosley was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Madison Burnham scored a run and drew a walk while Cassidy Cook scored a run. Ashley Johnston reached base on a walk while Sealy had an RBI, and Maddie Mooneyham had a sacrifice while at the plate.

“For our first game, we played really well,” said coach Dan Funt. “I was happy with our defense in only committing one error. We had solid play in the infield and outfield, which is great.

“O’Neil pitched a great game, but we need to give our pitchers more run support. We definitely have a lot of things to keep working on. For our first game though, it was a great start to the season.”

The Middle School Lady Cougars are set to host Tattnall Square Saturday at 10 a.m. and Loganville Christian Academy at 2 p.m.

“We have a good mix of young and experienced players, Funt said. “Coach (Danny) Camp and I are excited about this season. We have several key positions that we need to fill with players that don’t have a lot of experience. The girls have been practicing hard, and we look forward to playing some games.”

Madison Burnham, MaKennah Holified, Ashley Johnston, Baylee Keesee, Maddie Mooneyham and Bailyn Whitaker are eighth graders this fall. Only Whitaker is new to the program.

Seventh graders include O’Neil Sealy, Lauren Mosley, and Ivy English. Sixth graders on the 2012 squad are Cassidy Cook, Kirkley Holyfield, Hailey Hooper, Gracie Hunt, Mattie Johnston, Rylee Owens, Summer Strother, and Lucy Tuggle.

The Middle School Lady Cougars are set to host Tattnall Square Saturday at 10 a.m. and Loganville Christian Academy at 2 p.m.