SUMMIT, Miss. – The No. 2 Pearl River softball team walked out of Summit on Wednesday with a sweep over Southwest. The Wildcats used an offensive surge to take game one over the Bears, 8-3, and stout pitching and defense to win a 2-1 game two battle.
“It is always wonderful to go on the road in conference and sweep,” PRCC head coach Christie Meeks said. “I am really proud of these girls, I think they learned a lot in this series. In game two, we fell behind, but they never lost control of the situation.”
GAME ONE
Solid defense was on display early in game two as both offenses struggled to find the plate in the first couple of innings. Pearl River (22-3 overall; 4-0 MACCC) pitcher Natalie Herrington (Petal) worked out of a jam in the bottom of the second inning. With runners on first and third, Herrington struck out a Southwest (12-8; 1-3) batter before Morgan Lavergne (Baton Rouge, La.; Central) ended the inning by scooping up a ground ball and throwing a Bear out at second on a fielder’s choice.
The Wildcats found their offense in the top of the third. With Lavergne reaching base after being hit by a pitch and Natalie Toups (Brandon; Clinton Christian Academy) reaching on a walk, Lainee Bailey sent a rocket off the center field wall for a double, scoring Lavergne and Toups, 2-0.
The Wildcat defense was stout in the bottom of the third, needing only nine pitches for a three-up, three-down inning.
Klair Cuevas (Poplarville; Hancock) blew the game open in the top of the fourth with a monster three-run home run. With Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) on first, following a single to left field. Hoffmayer advanced to third on a single to right field by Caroline Lindsey (Gulfport). Cuevas sent the third pitch of the at-bat soaring over the center field wall to give the Wildcats a 5-0 lead after four and a half innings.
Herrington and the Wildcat defense again made quick work of the Bears in the bottom of the fourth, needing only seven pitches to retire the side.
The Bears got on the board in the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back doubles to bring the score to 5-1.
Cuevas reached second to open the top of seventh. After hitting a crisp grounder to third, Cuevas reached second after the third baseman’s throw went over the first baseman’s head. Meadows advanced Cuevas to third and reached base on an error off a bunt to second base. Lavergne cleared the bases with a home run to deep center field, giving the Wildcats an 8-1 lead.
The Bears plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh to bring the final score to 8-3.
Herrington had a strong outing for the Wildcats, pitching a complete game, striking out five and allowing two earned runs on seven hits.
Lavergne was 2-for-3 in game one, with one home run, three RBIs and scoring twice.
Cuevas was 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
“Klair coming up and hitting a three-run home run in the first game was huge for us,” Meeks said. “And the same for Morgan. Those were timely hits.”
GAME TWO
The Bears wasted no time to get on the scoreboard in game two of the conference series. Southwest opened the bottom of the first with a triple to right field. The runner scored on the next at-bat, a single to right field, 1-0. Wildcat pitcher Bailey stopped the Bear momentum, striking out the last two Bears batters of the inning.
Both teams struggled to find offense in the early going as the score remained 1-0 through four. Bailey kept the Bear batters off balance, striking out seven through four innings.
Catcher Catilyn Riche (Walker, La.) opened the top of the fifth with a line drive down the left field line for a single. With Madelyn Bourgoyne (Walker, La) in as a pinch runner for Riche, Charlee Meadows (Piave; Greene County) crushed a line drive double to right field, scoring Bourgoyne to tie the game 1-1.
The Wildcats defense stood firm in the bottom of the fifth with a three up, three down inning.
Anna Kate Rounsaville (Gulfport) singled on a blooper over the shortstop to shallow center field in the top of the sixth. Ryleigh Wallace (Petal) singled in the next at-bat, advancing Rounsaville to second. Bryn Daughtery (Vancleave) sent a line drive to right field for a double, scoring Rounsaville and giving the Wildcats a 2-1 lead.
The Bears could not find an answer in the sixth and seventh innings, and the Wildcats claimed game two, 2-1.
Bailey kept the Bears off balance all game, giving up only one earned run on four hits and striking out ten batters.
Entering the game as a pinch hitter, Rounsaville was 1-for-1 with one run scored.
Daughtery was 2-for-3 from the plate with a double and an RBI.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats will host Mississippi Delta on Saturday for a 2/4 p.m. doubleheader. The game will be livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com.
TICKETS
Tickets are on sale now at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. General admission tickets are $8 per game. Season passes can be purchased for $75 for softball or a softball/baseball season pass can be purchased for $100.
HOW TO WATCH
The Wildcats will once again livestream all games for free at PRCCMedia.com/gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the “Pearl River CC” channel from their app stores.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
