POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Lainee Bailey (Walker, La.) show was in full effect Tuesday evening inside Wildcat Stadium as the two-way star helped the No. 2 Pearl River softball team sweep Meridian. PRCC took game one 10-2 in six innings and won the nightcap 9-0 in five.
The Southeastern Louisiana transfer finished a perfect 7-for-7 with seven RBIs, four runs scored, two doubles, one triple, and a homer across the doubleheader. She also threw five two-hit, eight-strikeout innings in the circle to earn a shutout.
“I’m just so proud of her,” head coach Christie Meeks said. “It’s just a reoccurring thing. She’s so mature in the box and in the circle. When she’s uncomfortable, she steps out and gathers her thoughts. She’s been fantastic all season.”
GAME ONE
Pearl River (26-3 overall; 8-0 MACCC) fell behind in the early going against Meridian (12-19; 1-5) as a walk and an error came back to bite the Wildcats, 1-0. The PRCC offense wasn’t going to stay behind for long, responding with a two-spot in the bottom half of the frame. A Bailey single was sandwiched between a Natalie Toups (Brandon; Clinton Christian Academy) and Bryn Daughtery (Vancleave) walk. Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) came up clutch to follow, sending a first-pitch single along the ground and into center field for two RBIs, 2-1.
Pearl River had a two-out rally for the ages in the bottom of the second inning, scoring five runs. With Morgan Lavergne (Baton Rouge, La.; Central) and Toups aboard, Bailey sent her team-leading seventh home run of the year flying over the right field wall, 5-1. Daughtery followed by ripping a double over the center fielder’s head and scored just a few pitches later as Anna Kate Rounsaville (Gulfport) bashed a two-run shot over the left field wall, 7-1.
The Eagles got a run back in the third, singling home a run to cut the deficit to five runs, 7-2.
The Wildcats finally got back in the run column in the fifth. Meeks turned to her bench after a groundout, bringing in LSU Alexandria transfer Madelyn Bourgoyne (Walker, La.) to pinch hit. She watched a ball go by and then smashed a triple off the center field wall. Toups struck out to follow, but the ball got away from the catcher, and she beat out the throw. Bourgoyne used heads-up base running to cross the plate. PRCC’s second triple of the inning came seconds later as Bailey ripped a ball over the right fielder’s head for an RBI, 9-2.
Following a three-up, three-down sixth inning in the circle for Natalie Herrington (Petal), PRCC ended the game in the bottom half. Hoffmayer led off the frame with a single before Caroline Lindsey (Gulfport) put an end to the game with a walk-off double, 10-2.
Herrington threw a six-inning complete game, allowing two unearned runs on four this and two walks. She struck out 11 batters, marking the fourth time she has eclipsed the double-digit mark this season.
Bailey was impossible to get out at the plate, finishing a stellar 4-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs. She finished the game a double shy of the cycle.
Daughtery, Hoffmayer and Lindsey all picked up two hits in the contest. Toups finished with two walks.
GAME TWO
The Wildcats wasted no time taking a lead in the second game of the night, scoring in the first inning. Following a Toups walk, starting pitcher Bailey helped her own cause by smashing a ball down the left field line and into the corner for an RBI double, 1-0.
Bailey was virtually untouchable in the second and third, striking out four of the seven batters she faced and allowing just one base runner on an error.
Pearl River rewarded her dominance with some more two-out magic in the third. With Bailey and Klair Cuevas (Poplarville; Hancock) both in scoring position, Hoffmayer sent a line drive into right field for her second two-run single of the doubleheader. Shortly after, she came around to score on a double off the bat of Caitlyn Riche (Walker, La.), 4-0.
Five more Wildcat runs crossed the plate in PRCC’s next plate appearance. Bailey drove in RBIs six and seven in the doubleheader with a hard-hit ball into center field. After a Daughtery single, Hoffmayer left the yard, fishing for a ball low in the zone and sending it over straight away center field for a three-run shot, 9-0.
Bailey went back to work in the circle in the fifth and worked around a hit-by-pitch to put an end to the game in a 9-0 run-rule victory.
Bailey went 3-for-3 with two runs, three RBIs and two doubles. Riche also went 3-for-3, driving in one run and hitting two doubles. Hoffmayer collected a game-high five RBIs on two hits. Daughtery finished 2-for-2. Bailey was unreal in the circle, throwing five two-hit innings and striking out eight batters.
NEXT UP
Pearl River hits the road Saturday for a road series at Itawamba. First pitch in Fulton is set for noon. The doubleheader will be livestreamed at LetsGoICCTV.com.
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