Man High School senior Morgan Cooper capped off a stellar high school career by throwing a perfect game in the North-South Softball Classic on June 8 at Buffalo's Darrell Moore Field (Photo courtesy of Mandi Cooper).
Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
BUFFALO In her final appearance in the circle as a high school softball player, Man High School senior Morgan Cooper had a perfect morning in the North-South Softball Classic at Buffalo High School’s Darrell Moore Field.
Cooper, a Radford University signee, threw a perfect game to lead the Region 4 all stars to a 2-0 win over the Region 1 all stars on June 8.
Cooper was in complete control of the Region 1 batters all morning, striking out 15 of the 21 batters she faced including eight straight hitters spanning from the last out of the third inning to the first out of the sixth inning.
Cooper struck out two batters in every inning except the seventh and struck out the side in the second, fourth and fifth innings.
She was also 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of singles and was named MVP.
Chapmanville’s Emma Muncy supplied Cooper with all the offense she would need with a run scoring single in the top of the third to score Van’s Emma Wilcox.
Region 4 added a run in sixth when Winfield’s Chloe Kimble grounded out to second allowing Ripley’s McKennan Hall to score.
John Marshall’s Kadence Pettit was the losing pitcher for Region 1 after allowing two runs on three hits with nine strikeouts and two walks.
Cooper had two hits and Muncy one hit to account for the only three hits for Region 4. Muncy had one RBI and Hall and Wilcox each scored one run.
The win moved Region 4 into the winner’s bracket of the North-South Softball Classic where they had an easy time defeating Region 2 13-1 in five innings.
Region 4 led 5-1 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, but broke the game open with an eight-run outburst to secure the classic championship.
Cooper, who came to the plate as a pinch hitter, started the scoring in fourth with a two-run home run over the right field fence for a 7-1 lead. Wilcox and Lunsford added a pair of run-scoring singles to increase the lead to 9-1.
Ripley’s Cassidy Cummings two-run single put Region 4 ahead 11-1 and a run scoring double off the bat of Scott’s Tatum Halley and a single from Nitro’s Carly Mathes capped the fourth inning scoring.
Mathes finished the evening 4-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Lunsford was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs, Buffalo’s Rachel Affolter also went 2-for-2 with one RBI and Halley was 2-for-2 as well with a double and one RBI.
Cummings had one hit and two RBIs, Wilcox one hit and one RBI, Wahama’s Amber Wolfe had a double and one RBI and Winfield’s Maci Boggess, Hall, Kimble and Ravenswood’s Hattie Jo Kennedy each had one hit to round out Region 4’s 18-hit attack.
Muncy was 0-for-1 but score a pair of runs and Lincoln County’s Haleigh Adkins scored one for Region 4.
Boggess, who was named MVP of the second game, was the winning pitcher allowing one run on four hits with three strikeouts in three innings pitched. Mathes gave up two hits and struck out three in one inning of work.
Jefferson’s Shelby Harris was the losing pitcher after allowing three runs on four hits and one hit batter in one inning of work. Harris started for Region 2 in the circle, but left after being hit by a line drive.
Lincoln’s Delaney Haller took over in relief and allowed 10 runs on 14 hits with one strikeout and one walk in three innings.
Region 4 scored three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-0 lead on run scoring hits from Wolfe, Mathes and Lunsford. They added to their lead in the second with a run scoring single from Mathes.
Cummings singled in the third to put Region 4 up 5-0 and Region 2 got on the board in the top of the third when Harris singled to score Herbert Hoover’s Sydney Bright to cut the deficit to 5-1.
Bright had a double while Haller, Harris, Lewis County’s Addison Heath, Lincoln’s Cadence Lambert and Herbert Hoover’s Emma Veltri each had one hit for Region 2.
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