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Red Devils Trounce Tornadoes In Softball

Brian Gjurgevich/Highlands Today

Avon Park’s Julie Lamb heads toward third base during the Red Devils’ 26-0 romp of Booker on Tuesday.

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By Brian Gjurgevich | Highlands Today

Published: February 7, 2008

AVON PARK — Missy Lander thinks the 2008 Avon Park softball team has a chance to make history.
If Tuesday's throttling of Booker was any indication, she might be on to something.

The Red Devils took advantage of 13 Booker errors and hammered out nine hits to claim a 26-0 mercy-rule victory over the Tornadoes on opening night at the Avon Park softball complex.

Four Red Devils scored four runs and three — Julie Lamb, Heather Barnes and Kim White — had multiple hits in a game that was over after two innings: Avon Park scored five runs in the first inning and 11 more in the second to put the game out of reach, and pitcher Ashton Shirey threw two shutout innings before yielding to Ashley Carr and Amber Tindell.

"This is the best team we've ever had at Avon Park," said Lander, who had a double, a triple and two runs scored. "[Booker's] not the strongest team, but it was good to see our bats tonight."

White said the Red Devils have put in their work in the offseason, and are ready for a run at the district title, which eluded them last year.

"We've been working hard in the cages and were hitting well yesterday," White said. "We came to play tonight."

Barnes said Booker's off-speed pitcher wasn't what the Devils were expecting, but they quickly adjusted.

"She was slower than most pitchers we'll face this year," Barnes said. "But we were able to hit it whenever she put it across the plate."

Avon Park coach Mike Cobb said his team has not only the talent to make a dent in the district, but also the depth. The eighth-year skipper said his entire bench has the ability to contribute.

"In years past, if someone got injured, we lost a game or two," Cobb said. "But now we're a little bit deeper, and that's a better feeling."

The Red Devils face two tough contests to end the week, beginning tonight when they hit the road to battle DeSoto. They turn around Friday for another tough road match, this time against George Jenkins. Both games are set for 7:30 p.m. starts.

"How you play on the road back-to-back nights shows a lot about a team," Cobb said. "That's part of high school ball — we scheduled it that way because all of this is warm-up for the district championship. It's not so much to have a good record, but to look back and say we beat some tough teams."

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