Co-ed wraps up season:Yorozu nabs league title, 6-0 record

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

Yorozu pitcher Dennis Parrish delivers during Wednesday night’s game against The Sound Machine. Parrish hit a home run to help lead his team to the regular season championship and an undefeated season record. (Rob Nunley photo)

Yorozu built an early lead, then had to hold off a late rally to capture first place in the city co-ed softball league Wednesday night.

Down 12-1 after three innings, Sound Machine roared to life late in the game, scoring seven runs in the top of the seventh. But the early deficit was too much to overcome, as Yorozu steadily padded its lead and held on for a 19-15 win.

With that victory, and a 21-1 win over McMinnville Workholding later in the night, Yorozu completed an undefeated run through the league’s regular season, finishing 6-0. Sound Machine was handed its first loss, and finished in second place with a 5-1 mark.

After Sound Machine plated a run in the first on a Mandy Franklin RBI single, Yorozu came through with six runs in the bottom of the frame. Frank Southard got things going with a three-run inside-the-park homer, and Dennis Parrish blasted a two-run shot to center field to put his squad up 6-1.

After a two-out ground-rule double from Joan Womack in the second, Yorozu got its bats going again to plate three runs. Casey Pelham scored Womack with a double, then came home himself on a hit from “Sly” Hargis. Southard then plated Hargis with a double.

A two-run single from “Worm” Smith helped add to Yorozu’s advantage in the third, and RBIs from Bobby Christian and Hargis gave the eventual league champs a 12-1 lead.

Sound Machine’s Denny Vaughn came through with a two-run homer to highlight a three-run fourth, and his squad came through with two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to tighten up the game.

But Yorozu held its ground with a run on a Hargis RBI in the fourth, and scored three in the fifth and sixth to stay on top.

Casey Pelham led the way for Yorozu with three hits and a walk, scoring each time he reached base. He also came through with a big play in the fourth, robbing Sound Machine’s Carl Ferrell of a home run to end the inning.

Frank Southard drove in four runs, and Christian plated three. Hargis reached base all four times she came up, leading all female batters in the game.

• Casey Pelham, Frank Southard and Parrish all went 3-for-3 in Yorozu’s win over Workholding, while Jeff Pelham finished 2-for-2. Among female hitters, Hargis, Leanna McCulloch and Womack all went 3-for-3.

The co-ed league tournament is scheduled to begin June 12.