Saints' Darden hurls 4 1/2-inning no-hitter

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on March 7, 2008 2:36 PM

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DUDLEY -- Southern Wayne scored a run in each inning and dominated county rival Rosewood, 10-0, on Thursday afternoon.

Saints senior Brianna Lofton got the offense started with a first-inning single. Alyssa Bradshaw, Morgan Davis and Meredith Davis each followed with a base knock to plate Lofton.

Southern Wayne (3-1 overall) added a single run in the third inning and two more in the third. Rosewood yielded two fourth-inning runs and officials called the contest in the fifth when the Saints plated their 10th run.

"I thought we finally got the bats going a little bit this afternoon," said first-year Saints head coach Michael Wiggs. "Early in the year we haven't been hitting the ball, and today we came out and looked a lot better."

Right-hander Lauren Darden held the Eagles hitless and retired 12 of 15 batters she faced. Rosewood did not put a ball in play until the third inning.

"We had a game yesterday, so I got a lot of good time in, but I certainly didn't expect to have that kind of stuff," said Darden, the reigning News-Argus Pitcher of the Year. "You can't expect yourself to go out and strike out every hitter. That's why there is a defense behind you.

"Our team is always making plays in the field."

Wiggs almost didn't start Darden in the pitcher's circle.

"I thought about pitching our other pitcher tonight because it's still early, but I realized Lauren needed some more work," said Wiggs. "She seems to get stronger as the year goes on, and tonight was a good opportunity for her to work on her mechanics and control of her pitches."

Meredith Davis led the Saints with three hits, an RBI and a run scored. Bradshaw contributed three hits and scored three runs.

"We had a three-game, preseason tournament that was rained out and that kind of put us behind the eight ball to start the regular season," said Wiggs. "But now we look like we are getting it together."

Weather permitting, Southern Wayne is the guest of D.H. Conley today. Rosewood is scheduled to visit Midway.