POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The 3-seed Pearl River softball team’s Region 23 Tournament run ended Saturday night. The Wildcats took down 10-seed Northwest 1-0 to advance to the nightcap but fell to 6-seed East Central 5-3.
“I think our girls figured out what it meant to play with fire under them. Each one of these girls is classy,” head coach Christie Meeks said. “They are competitive, and they fight together. It didn’t fall our way in the second game, but I am proud of the effort they played with from inning one to inning 14.”
The Wildcats will hope to receive an at-large bid into the NJCAA National Tournament May 20-25 in Spartanburg, S.C. The bracket will be announced on May 14.
PEARL RIVER 1, NORTHWEST 0.
Pitching and defense were abundant between Pearl River (42-12 overall) and Northwest (27-20), as both teams struggled to put runners on and move them around.
Starting pitcher Natalie Herrington‘s (Petal) first insurance run didn’t come until the third inning. Morgan Lavergne (Baton Rouge, La.; Central) slapped a ball along the ground to second base and reached on a Ranger miscue. Natalie Toups (Brandon; Clinton Christian Academy) drew a walk, and Lainee Bailey (Walker, La.) loaded up the bases with a hard-hit single into the left field. Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) nearly broke the game open, but her laser down the left field line landed just foul, and she grounded out on the following play. Caroline Lindsey (Gulfport) was the next Wildcat to step to the plate and delivered like she has all year, smacking an RBI single between the third baseman and shortstop for a run, 1-0.
Herrington had to deal with traffic on the bases in the fourth inning but stood tall to get out of the jam, forcing a groundout that Lavergne fielded and fired home for a force out and then inducing an inning-ending double play.
Both Herrington and Northwest’s pitcher continued to match each other pitch-for-pitch as the game progressed, and Herrington eventually trotted back out to the pitcher’s circle in the seventh with a chance to put the game to rest. She forced a lineout, struck out the next batter and then got the final batter of the game to ground out to shortstop, securing the victory.
Herrington allowed two hits, two walks, and four hit-by-pitches in the game, striking out two.
“I asked her last night what she had that no one else has,” Meeks said. “She said that she looks at the batters and pitches to their weaknesses. I thought that she did that today.”
Lavergne, Toups, Bailey, Lindsey and Caitlyn Riche (Walker, La.) each had a hit.
EAST CENTRAL 5, PEARL RIVER 3.
The Wildcats once again struck first in game two. After threatening in each of the first and second innings, PRCC plated a run in the third. Lindsey took care of it herself, walking, stealing second, taking third on a wild pitch and crossing the plate on a passed ball, 1-0.
East Central snatched the lead from the Wildcats a half-inning later — doing its damage with two outs. With two runners aboard, the Warriors drove a two-run double into the left center field gap to take the lead, then padded it with an RBI single, 3-1.
The Wildcats turned in a rally in the top of the fourth to tie up the game. Lavergne drew her third walk of the game and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. She eventually crossed the plate as Hoffmayer sent a ball along the ground and into center field for an RBI, 3-2. PRCC loaded up the bases shortly after, and Bryn Daughtery (Vancleave) battled for a six-pitch walk and RBI, 3-3.
East Central immediately pulled back in front in the bottom half of the inning, capitalizing on a pair of Wildcat errors to do its damage, 4-3. The Warriors added one final run in the sixth, turning a walk and a double into a sacrifice fly, 5-3.
Pearl River got a runner aboard at the top of the seventh, but the Warriors caught a line drive hammered into center field to end the game.
Bailey threw 2 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks. She struck out three. Herrington threw 3 1/3 innings in relief, allowing two runs on one hit, one walk and one hit batsmen. She tallied one strikeout.
Hoffmayer was the only player with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI. Lavergne walked three times. Bailey, Daughtery and Rounsaville each walked twice.
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