By JAMES JONES

Special from The Selma Times-Journal

Eighth-grader Elexis Smith threw a perfect game as Maplesville routed Dallas County 24-0 on March 19 in Plantersville.

The game was called after three innings because of the state’s 15-run mercy rule. The Lady Hornets fall to 2-7.

Smith struck out seven of the nine Dallas County batters she faced.

The other two outs came on ground balls. Smith shifted the credit to her teammates.

“We were quick on defense in the infield and made no errors, we swung the bats really well,” Smith said.

Maplesville took advantage of several Dallas County wild pitches and errors, something Lady Hornets coach Stevie Creel wants to get fixed.

“We’re making too many mistakes,” Creel said. “We’ve had good practices, but we need to translate that into games. Once we start doing that, we’ll be fine.”

Laci Cook, Avery Reed and Emily McGee all led Maplesville with three RBI. Caitlin Burnett and Emilee Smith both had two RBI. Jaycie Armstrong and Gracie Harrison each drove in a run.  Cook led the Lady Devils with three hits.

Maplesville took control from the first pitch, jumping out to a 4-0 first inning lead.

The Lady Devils exploded for 13 runs in the second, then added six more runs during the game’s final inning.

Creel remains confident in the Lady Hornets, who lost to Maplesville 15-0 last month.

“I knew we’d have a young team this year and struggle a lot with pitching and catching,” Creel said. “We only have two seniors and two juniors.”