WESSON — The Co-Lin Lady Wolves are preparing for the firstround of the Region 23 Fastpitch Softball Tournament beginningThursday morning and finishing up Friday afternoon. The tourney isplayed under double elimination rules.

The Lady Wolves, under the direction of head coach Allen Kentand assistant coach Johnny Williams, captured their first fastpitchstate title last Sunday with a tough 2-0 win over the NortheastLady Rangers.

Joining Co-Lin (34-7) in the Region 23 tourney are Northeast(31-21), East Central and LSU-Eunice. The winner of the regionaladvances to the National Tournament in Normal, Ill. next week.”

Co-Lin meets East Central in Game One at 10 a.m. Thursdaymorning. At noon, LSU-Eunice faces Northeast in Game Two. At 2p.m., the losers from Game One and Game Two meet. The final game ofthe day is at 4 featuring a matchup between the winners of Game Oneand Game Two.

Kent talked about the three opponents in the tournament. TheLady Wolves have faced all three teams during the regular seasonand two in last week’s state tournament.

“LSU-Eunice doesn’t have restrictions on recruiting,” said Kent.”They are the only one of two (community colleges) in Louisiana.They have one good pitcher. They are solid defensively. They swingthe bats really well. They don’t make many mistakes.”

East Central brings in a veteran squad with 41 win s on theseason.

“East Central starts all sophomores,” stated Kent. “They arevery disciplined. They swing the bats well. They are pretty steadydefensively. Coach (Scott) Hill does a good jog with them.”

Kent knows how tough it is to beat Northeast. His Lady Wolvesdefeated the Lady Tigers 2-0 in the championship game last Sundayfor the state title.

“Northeast is fairly well balanced,” explained Kent who hasbeaten them 4 out of 5 times this season. “The girl (ShannonVanderploeg) that threw against us was from Canada. The Lady Tigershave a history, winning the North Division title six yearsin-a-row. They’ve Been in the final game of the tournament the lastfour years.”

The Lady Wolves have been blessed with strong pitching thisseason, which was evident in the state tourney where the hits werefew. Sophomore Emily Horne and freshman Erin Douglass have carriedthe workload on the mound.

Horne, a graduated of Sharpstown High School in Pearland, Texas,won all three games over two days last weekend in the MACJC statetournament. Her record improved to 16-3.

Douglass (13-4) has pitched and also a force to be reckonedwith. Sophomore Jackie Stowe (2-0) is also ready to start ifneeded.

Last Sunday, Horne suffered a bad abdomibable pull that willtake time to heal. Her seeing any action at all this week isquestionable.

“Emily is very, very sore,” explained Kent. “She is undergoingtherapy. It is questionable whether she may play. She has anabdomibable pull. She is very questionable for Thursday andFriday.

“She had been key to our success, ” continued Kent.”Erin andJackie are ready to go when they are called upon. They are ready toaccept the challenge to help.”

Kent appreciates the help he gets from Williams.

“Johnny fills in all areas,’ compliment Kent. “He helps with ourdefensive situations. He is there helping in the hitting aspect aswell. There is a lot that goes on in putting on a tournament and hea huge help.”

“It really helps having someone like him to bounce thingsoff.”

Kent, Williams and the Lady Wolves are happy to be home hostingthe regional.

“We are glad,” stated Kent. “It’s good for the girls to be ontheir own home field in their own surroundings. We’ve got the threetop teams in the state and one from Louisiana. It’s the cream ofthe crop. All three of us have been ranked in the polls.”

Last weekend, the Lady Wolves had no errors in the statetourney. Kent hopes that will continue this week.

“Winning the state tournament is such a rewarding experience,”stated Kent. “What I am most proud of is that we committed noerrors. That speaks to how hard we have worked all year and howfocused the girls were.

I hope the weather cooperates,” added Kent. On Tuesday, Kent wasgoing to Belhaven to borrow a tarp in case the rains do returntoday.