While Monday's weather conditions weren't quite favorable, Van Buren softball coach Andy Williams and his Lady Pointers warmed up to the outcome.

The Lady Pointers built a 10-0 lead in the fourth and went on to a 12-2 win in six innings against Alma in a non-conference game between the two longtime rivals which was played in cold, windy conditions.


"Every win's been a good win, there's never been an ugly win, so we'll take it," Williams said.

"We did some good things, and fortunately for us, we got some good fortune. They made a couple of bad plays there that helped us out, of course, and I'll take those any time you can get them, but we did a lot of things good (Monday) that we hadn't been doing."

One of those things which pleased Williams was McKennah Sikes, who has gotten off to a tremendous start on the season, wasn't the only Lady Pointer driving in runs Monday. Five Van Buren players had RBIs.

"We got more production out of the lineup," Williams said. "We had a two-game stretch there where McKennah had 14 of our 15 RBIs. ... Everybody just kept making contact, we got a few more kids in the game (Monday) when we got ahead and got some at-bats from some young kids, so all in all, it was a good ballgame."

But Sikes continued to do her part at the plate. She went 2-for-3 and drove in four runs, including a two-RBI home run in the bottom of the sixth which ended the game as Van Buren (5-1) got the run-rule win.

"She's a phenomenal hitter, she's just strong," Williams said of Sikes, a senior. "This year, she's just swinging the bat harder. ... She can hit it out of any park, any time."