Carrie Ellen Arnold Is ‘Perfect’

Jeff Davis High’s Carrie Ellen Arnold may be just a freshman but she’s beginning to make a name for herself on the mound for the JDHS varsity and junior varsity softball programs.
Earlier in the year, she pitched a perfect game against Berrien County in a jayvee game, hurled a no hitter against Telfair County in a jayvee game, had a no hitter against Sumter County in a varsity contest, and yesterday (Tuesday) pitched a perfect game in a varsity contest against Fitzgerald.
Add to that freshman Cori Mims’ perfect game performance against Montgomery County in a Jayvee contest and Jaqueline Villasenor’s perfect game against Dublin in a middle school game and Lady Jacket pitching is, indeed, formidable.
And that doesn’t even take into account senior Lady Jacket Kelsey Parlor’s giving up only six earned runs in 76 1/3 innings on the mound, her seven shutout performances this season, and her 114 strikeouts in just 76 1/3 innings on the mound.
And fellow senior Maeleigh Burns has also been a force on the mound. Her latest exploit was a 2-hit, no-earned-runs outing yesterday (Tuesday) against Fitzgerald in 16-1 win in the opening game of a Region 1-AA double header.
Of course, the rock solid Lady Jacket defense and some powerful performances at the plate have certainly been key aspects to Jeff Davis’ 19-1 season record.
In Tuesday’s opener, Burns had to pitch only three innings as the Lady Jackets scored nine in the first and seven in the second after spotting Fitzgerald to a 1-0 lead in the first thanks to a rare defensive error for JD. A walk, the error and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs and Burns then walked a batter on a 3-2 count as the Lady Purple Hurricanes got an unearned run.
In the bottom of the first, JD sent 15 batters to the plate as the Lady Jackets got four singles and a double, Fitzgerald committed three errors and Hurricane pitching gave up three walks and a hit batter. JD led 9-1 after one inning.
The Lady Jackets sent 13 more batters to the plate in the second and collected three singles, three doubles and three walks to put seven more runs on the board.
Jaci Underwood had a single, a double and three RBI, Laisha Hernandez had a single, a double and two RBI, Jenna Miles singled twice and drove in two runs, Burns doubled and drove in a run, Claire Stinson doubled and drove in two runs, Ella Wood had a single and an RBI, Alera Vann had a single and two RBI, Addison Brewer singled and Payton Thigpen had an RBI.
Burns gave up two hits, walked three, hit one and struck out four.
In the nightcap, Arnold struck out all three batters she faced on just 10 pitches in the first inning. And the Lady Jackets jumped on the Lady Purple Hurricanes for nine runs in the bottom of the first, as 13 batters stepped to the plate. Jeff Davis had three singles, three doubles and a sacrifice fly, and Fitzgerald committed two errors and gave up two walks in the inning.
After Arnold struck out the side on 15 pitches in the top of the second, Jeff Davis couldn’t score. Then Arnold needed only 11 pitches to get through the third and the JD bats added three runs in the third to up the lead to 12-0. The big hit in the inning was a 2-run triple by Underwood.
Underwood led the offense with a double, a triple and four RBI. Miles and Stinson both had a double and an RBI, Thigpen and Wood both had a single and an RBI, Hernandez singled and Burns drove in a run.
Arnold got nine of the game’s 12 outs by strikeout.
Score by innings:
FHS 1 0 0 – 1
JDHS 9 7 x 16

FHS 0 0 0 0 – 0
JDHS 9 0 3 x -12