POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The 3-seed Pearl River softball team couldn’t dig itself out of an early hole Friday night in its Region 23 Tournament opener against 6-seed East Central, falling 9-4.
“We just have to attack tomorrow with the mindset to win two,” head coach Christie Meeks said. “We have to regroup, refocus and push forward. The good thing about double elimination is that you can jump back into it very quickly. Anything can happen. This group is resilient, and I think we will be resilient tomorrow.”
A leadoff walk came back to bite the Wildcats (41-11 overall) in the top of the first inning. Despite picking up back-to-back fielder’s choice outs, the fourth batter for the Warriors (34-13) sent a ball flying the other way and over the wall for a two-run homer, 2-0.
In the second frame, Pearl River came unraveled a bit, allowing four runs to cross the plate to fall behind 6-0 in the contest. The Warriors tacked on another in the third on an unconventional wild pitch that ricocheted off the catcher’s leg protector and deep into foul territory, allowing the runner to score from second, 7-0.
Pearl River ended the shutout in the bottom of the third. Morgan Lavergne (Baton Rouge, La.; Central) opened the inning with a single and eventually scored on a passed ball. Lainee Bailey (Walker, La.) drew a walk in the inning and crossed the plate on Bryn Daughtery‘s (Vancleave) sacrifice fly, 7-2.
East Central picked up another run in the top of the fourth, singling home a runner that began the inning with a double, 8-2.
Lavernge drew a walk to open the fifth inning and eventually scored when Bailey ripped a single into center field, 8-3. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, ECCC matched it in the sixth by sending an RBI double into left field, 9-3.
Bailey got the bottom of the seventh, crushing a ball over the wall in right field, 9-4. The solo shot was her 18th of the season, tying the PRCC single-season record. A strikeout and two groundouts followed, ending the contest 9-4.
BY THE NUMBERS
Natalie Herrington (Petal) allowed six runs on two hits and two walks in 1 1/3 inning pitched. Bailey pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks. She struck out four.
“Lainee was tough and returned to her normal self tonight,” Meeks said. “She’s been working through some end-of-season issues, and I was very proud of her tonight.”
Bailey was the only Wildcat with multiple hits. She drove in two runs and walked once. Lavergne reached base four times, walking three times and recording one hit.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats will now take on Northwest in an elimination game Saturday at 4 p.m. in Ellisville.
TICKETS
Admission is $12 online or $15 cash-only at the gate. A weekend pass is available for $25. Tickets can be purchased at JCBobcats.com/Tickets. Gates open one hour before the first game each day.
TUNE IN
All games will be livestreamed at JCBobcats.com/Watch.
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