The hometown Ocean Springs Lady Greyhounds went on a hitting barrage to defeat the Petal Lady Panthers 11-6 on Friday night at Jack B. Hughes Field in the opener of a second-round series in the Class 7A softball playoffs.
The Region 4 champions tallied 14 hits and left fielder Farrah James led the Lady Greyhounds, going 3-for-4 with a triple, two RBIs, two runs scored, and two stolen bases.
“I told our girls from the get-go we had to outhit them and that’s what we did tonight,” said Ocean Springs coach Lindsay O’Brien. “We don’t have a shutdown pitcher. Brooklyn (Peterson) mixes it up and battles, but we knew they would get some hits. I told them to put the ball in play and put pressure on their defense and that worked.”
It was a back-and-forth game early.
Ocean Springs started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning.
With one out, K’lee Gum beat out an infield single to the shortstop. Then James got her first hit on a hard ground ball in the hole between third and short, which put runners at first and second.
Laynee Davis stepped up and hit a drive, which just missed going over the wall, to score Gum on a close play at the plate. With James at second and Davis at first, they put on a double steal, advancing to second and third.
Caitlyn Ludwig walked to load the bases and Presley Newport hit a line drive to left to score James and give Ocean Springs a 2-0 lead. That’s when Petal pitcher Jaley Weathersby settled down and was able to get a strikeout and a flyout to right to end the inning.
Petal’s best inning came in the top of the second.
With one out, Lady Panthers left fielder Kennedy Ray hit a double down the right-field line. KK Gilchrist earned a walk, putting runners at first and second.
Kam Lofton ripped a line drive to right and Ocean Springs right fielder Addison Johnson saved at least one run as she leaped and caught the ball, almost doubling up Gilchrist at first.
The next batter, Sara Grace Miller, left no doubt when her bat connected as she hit a shot over the Ocean Springs logo in dead center for a three-run home run and a 3-2 Petal lead.
“This was not one of our better hitting games,” said Petal coach Shelly Flood. “Yes, we had some good at-bats, but overall, it wasn’t our best effort. I’m excited for a chance tomorrow to prove that we can hit the ball better. I think we were a little tight tonight and did things we normally don’t do. The message to my team was similar after we lost a game to Gulfport. Leave no regrets. So we are all looking forward to tomorrow.”
In the bottom of the third, James hit a ball over the left fielder’s head and used her breathtaking speed for a triple. After an out, Ludwig hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring James and tying the game at 3.
Ocean Springs basically won the game in the bottom of the fourth, putting up five runs. Peterson hit a hard ground ball that bounced off the first baseman’s glove for a single. Kerrigan Scott singled to right, putting runners at first and second for Gracie McDonald.
McDonald used her wheels to beat out a ground ball to second and Peterson scored from second to put Ocean Springs ahead. McDonald stole second to put runners at second and third. Gum also beat out a ground ball to second to score Scott.
Gum stole second, and after James popped out to second, Davis walked to load the bases. Ludwig, with two outs, earned an RBI walk to score McDonald.
With the bases still loaded, Newport hit a long fly off the right-center field fence, scoring Gum and Davis and giving Ocean Springs an 8-3 lead.
The two teams get right back at it on Saturday night at 6:30 in Petal.
If Game Three is necessary, it will be on Monday night at Ocean Springs.
