DECATUR – Shane Montgomery has watched Arriann Henry and Brittany Seale blast home runs all season for his North Pontotoc Lady Vikings.

So, the veteran coach wasn’t surprised by the feat he witnessed from his one-two power punch Saturday in the 27th annual Mississippi Association of Coaches Slow-Pitch All-Star Softball Games.

Seale hit four home runs and recorded 10 RBI while Henry added four homers and six RBI to lead the North to a sweep of the South – 10-8 and 26-7 – in the 4A-5A-6A series at Newton County High School’s Mack Fanning Field.

“They are special; it was no surprise,” Montgomery said postgame.

Henry hit 21 home runs and Seale 17 in the regular season for the Lady Vikings.

Seale, whose three-run knockout in the bottom of the sixth inning gave the North a comeback win in the first game, was named the series MVP. She belted her other three homers in the second game.

“When I come up with runners on base, I’m shooting for a base hit,” Seale said. “It felt good to hit the home runs in an all-star game.”

Henry hit two homers in each game. Her first was a three-run shot in the first inning of the opener.

Henry was intentionally walked 22 times during the season, but she was pitched to in all-star play. It was a refreshing change.

“It’s frustrating when I get walked; I get mad,” she said, then smiled. “I just went up there to get a hit.”

Haley Moore of Itawamba AHS went 5 for 5 for the North in the second game, ripping four doubles and a homer.

Small-school split

In the 1A-2A-3A series, the North earned a split, rallying for a 29-15 win in the second game. The South won the first game, 36-6.

“That’s a football score; it was bad,” Mooreville’s Katelyn Keith said of the opener.

Keith, named the series MVP, helped the North’s cause in the second game, going 5 for 6 with two home runs and seven RBI. She also hit a home run in the first game.

“I was more relaxed in the second game,” she said. “I just tried to hit it hard.”

Wheeler’s April Thompson had a huge second game, going 5 for 5 with three homers. She hit just five during the regular season.

“All of them felt great coming off the bat; I knew they were gone,” she said.

gene.phelps@journalinc.com