West Lauderdale Claims MHSAA Class 4A Softball Title After Sweeping Itawamba
Addison Cornish named series MVP as West Lauderdale overcomes early deficit to defeat Itawamba AHS 5-3
West Lauderdale has secured the MHSAA Class 4A state softball championship, completing a two-game sweep of the series against Itawamba AHS on Friday at Southern Miss. The Knights defeated the Indians 5-3 in the decisive game, ending a four-year playoff rivalry between the two programmes.
The victory marks a significant turnaround for West Lauderdale, who finished the season with a 37-5 record. Itawamba AHS concluded their campaign at 31-6-1. The win reverses the outcome of the previous season, where Itawamba defeated West Lauderdale in the quarterfinals en route to their first state title.
West Lauderdale overcame a 3-1 deficit in the final game, scoring two runs in the top of the seventh inning. The momentum shifted when Addison Cornish and Aubri Cooper each hit solo home runs. Cornish, who also recorded two hits and two RBIs, was named the series MVP.
Itawamba coach Jeffrey Mann acknowledged the superior performance of his opponents. “It’s two good teams, knew we were going to be in a dogfight with them – we have been for the last four years. They outplayed us,” Mann said. He noted that while the team had established a standard, they were unable to string together consecutive hits to overcome the deficit.
The Knights maintained offensive consistency throughout the match, recording at least one hit in every inning. Itawamba stranded seven runners in Game 2 and failed to capitalise on scoring opportunities, including a chance in the bottom of the seventh when Kooper Reese flied out to right field.
