PENSACOLA, Fla. — The No. 15 Pearl River softball team split a series against a tough Pensacola State College Pirate team on Tuesday. It was a low-scoring day, with only seven combined runs scored over 17 innings of play. 

“Pensacola is a great team,” Meeks said of PRCC’s performance against Pensacola. “I think we definitely got better by playing them today.”

The Wildcats scored their first run of the day on a clutch RBI double by Bryn Daughtery (Vancleave) in the sixth inning of game two.

“Bryn is such a clutch hitter,” PRCC head coach Christie Meeks commented on Daughtery’s RBI in game two. “She consistently makes adjustments. Her hit really fired everyone up. It was our first score of the day. She lit the fire. I think our team knew we could win with that hit.” 

 

PENSACOLA STATE 4, PEARL RIVER 0

Pearl River (12-4 overall) struggled to find offense in game one against Pensacola State (13-7 overall), only recording three hits in the game.

After a three up, three down, top of the first for the Wildcats, the Pirates capitalized on the momentum created by their defense in the bottom of the first. 

The Pirates opened with an infield single. Following a walk, a Pirate single to left field brought in two runs to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.  

A great heads-up play by the PRCC infield stopped the Pirate momentum. Second baseman CharLee Meadows (Piave, Miss.; Greene County) was able to snag a line drive and make the throw to Morgan Lavergne (Baton Rouge; Central) at second base for a double play. Pitcher Natalie Herrington (Petal) closed the inning with her first strikeout. 

The Wildcats put a couple of runners on base off of Pirate errors in the bottom of the second. The Wildcats were unable to score as Dallyn Nance (Nanih Waiya) was thrown out at home by the Pirate outfielder on a Jena Pacheco (Vancleave) line drive to center.

Herrington made quick work of the Pirates in the bottom of the second. Only seeing four hitters, Herrington forced three infield groundouts. 

Lavergne continued her hot hitting with a double in the top of the third inning. 

The Wildcat defense kept the Pirate offense at bay in the bottom of the third. First baseman Julianah Overstreet (Vancleave) chased down a foul ball on the first base line. Not to be outdone, Nance tracked down a popup bunt behind her for another out. 

In the next inning, Herrington recorded her second strikeout in the game in the bottom of the fourth. 

The Pirates plated one more run in the bottom of the fifth inning to bring the lead to 3-0.

In the bottom of the sixth, Herrington picked up her third strikeout of the game. The Pirates closed the game’s scoring with a run in the bottom of the sixth to bring the score to 4-0. 

 

BY THE NUMBERS

Lavergne continues to be a tough out at the plate, going 2-for-3. Pacheco was 1-for-2 on the day. 

Herrington pitched a complete game with three strikeouts and three walks. 

 

PEARL RIVER 2, PENSACOLA STATE 1 

Pearl River showed its mental toughness in a ten-inning defensive battle against the Pirates in the second game of the day. The Wildcats spread nine hits over ten innings and a dominant pitching performance from Brinson Anne Rogers (Statesboro, Ga.) carried the Wildcats to a 2-1 victory.

The Wildcats opened the top of the first with a couple of singles by Lavergne and Nance. Overstreet loaded the bases by reaching first on an error by the Pirate second baseman. A heads-up play on a Cassidy Cartwright (Poplarville; Hancock) line drive prevented the Wildcats from scoring in the inning. The second baseman snared the line drive and quickly touched second base for a double play. 

Rogers started strong, striking out the first two Pirate batters she faced in the game. Cartwright closed out the inning by chasing down a long Pirate line drive. 

The Wildcats continued to make contact in the top of the second. Ashlyn Dean (Picayune; Pearl River Central) reached first base on a blooper to left field. Meadows advanced Dean to second on a sacrifice bunt. In the next at-bat, Natalie Toups (Brandon; Clinton Christian Academy) advanced Dean to third as she reached on an error by the first baseman. The Wildcats were unable to score after a ground out to the third baseman ended the inning. 

Rogers registered two more strikeouts in the bottom of the second inning and the game remained scoreless after two. 

The Pirates scored first in the bottom of the fourth on their only hit of the game, a solo home run by the second batter of the inning, 1-0. Despite the homerun, Rogers continued her strong game by striking out two more Pirate batters. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Pensacola faced more dominant pitching as Rogers struck out two of the three batters she faced to bring her game total to eight. 

The Wildcats entered the scoring column in the top of the sixth. With Overstreet on first following a line drive to centerfield, a Daughtery double to left field scored Overstreet to tie the score 1-1. 

The Wildcats threatened again in the top of the seventh but were unable to push a run across. Meadows singled to center field and advanced to third in the next at-bat. A ground ball by Toups led to a throwing error by the Pirate third baseman, Meadows moved to third and Toups advanced to second on the same error. Lavergne reached first on an infield single to load the bases. Nance hit into a fielder’s choice and Meadows was thrown out at home for the second out of the inning. A nice play by the Pensacola second baseman on an Overstreet grounder ended the Wildcat chance.

Rogers added two more strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh and the game entered extra innings in a 1-1 tie. 

Neither team was able to generate offense in the eighth inning. In the bottom of the eighth, Overstreet made a very athletic play to record the first out of the inning chasing down a foul ball. Rogers struck out the last two batters of the inning. 

In the top of the tenth with Meadows placed on second, Toups hit a sacrifice grounder to advance Meadows to third. In the next at-bat, Lavergne hit a laser down the first base line to score Meadows and give the Wildcats the lead, 2-1. 

In the bottom of the tenth, Rogers struck out two more batters to secure the 2-1 win. 

LEADING THE WAY

Rogers registered 15 strikeouts across 10 innings pitched. She allowed one hit and one earned run. 

“I think Brinson had a great game,” Meeks on Rogers’s performance. “She was tough all the way through ten innings.”

Lavergne was 3-for-5 from the plate with one RBI. 

“Morgan made some outstanding plays today,” Meeks on the all-around performance of Lavergne. “In her first at-bat, she battled to ten pitches. That just sets the tone for how she was the whole day.”

Daughtery was 1-for-4 with one double and one RBI.

NEXT UP

The Wildcats travel to Columbus, Ga. on March 3-4 to compete in the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic. PRCC’s full tournament schedule can be viewed at PRCCAthletics.com

 

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