PERFECT SEASON: Cornerstone wins state, finishes 26-0
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, May 9, 2007
With perfection comes humility, or so it is for the Cornerstone Christian Lady Chargers who captured the first girls state championship for CCS on Saturday with a 14-0 win over South Choctaw.
&8220;All year they did not let people talking about their record and how good they were go to their head. As a coach, when you see that day-in and day-out, then you know you&8217;ve got something special,&8221; head coach Mark Armstrong said from the visitors dugout at Lagoon Park&8217;s No. 5 field in Montgomery.
Armstrong finished his first season as head coach of the Lady Chargers in 2006 as third in the state on the same field.
When talking with his only two seniors, Keyla Finley and Marybeth Willis, after last year&8217;s loss, he assured them that something special was to follow.
&8220;We weren&8217;t satisfied with (finishing third). I told those two seniors that they set an example for this team and they gave us something to build off of, and that&8217;s where we&8217;ve worked from,&8221; Armstrong said.
With the decision established to not settle for third place, Armstrong and the team set a goal to &8220;win every game and everything else will take care of itself.&8221;
&8220;That&8217;s a pretty high goal, but you&8217;ve got to shoot for it,&8221; Armstrong said.
Shoot for it they did, and with success, finishing the year a perfect 26-0, while allowing just 24 runs by their opponents and scoring 355.
That is why it was not a surprise to the girls that the championship final was equal to a football score.
&8220;Once one person starts hitting, we all start hitting,&8221; said freshman ace pitcher Chelsey Dunnaway. &8220;It&8217;s a chain reaction.&8221;
Dunnaway collected her 25th win of the season Saturday, while refusing to give up a run to keep her 0.52 earned run average in tact.
Brittany Calma&8217;s home run in the third inning was an example of the chain reaction, as it helped spark a six-run inning for the Lady Chargers to grab control of the game. Nicole Davis and Hope Anderson also had three RBIs each.
Immediate reaction to the win was summarized as disbelief, but the team treated the game as any other, as they circled up around the pitcher&8217;s circle with the South Choctaw players for prayer.
&8220;Whatever we do here on the field I want to lift up Jesus with it. He gave me the opportunity and all of the girls the opportunity to play. That&8217;s what we stand for,&8221; Armstrong said