EUNICE, La. — The No. 10 Pearl River softball team played two very different ball games Saturday night. The Wildcats won an extra-inning 7-6 game against Blinn to begin the day before run-ruling No. 12 LSU Eunice in game two, 14-6.

PEARL RIVER 8, BLINN 7.

Over the course of the first four and a half innings, Pearl River (36-9) and Blinn (24-18) matched each other pitch-for-pitch. Any inning that looked like it had a rally going was quickly put to rest.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Wildcats finally broke through. CharLee Meadows (Piave; Greene County) and Natalie Toups (Brandon; Clinton Christian Academy) went back-to-back with singles. Morgan Lavergne (Baton Rouge, La.; Central) stepped to the plate next and sent a 1-0 pitch flying over the center field wall for a three-run homer. Even though the Wildcats were facing two outs, the rally continued. Julianah Overstreet (Vancleave) and Ashlyn Dean (Picayune; Pearl River Central) each fought for singles to bring Cassidy Cartwright (Poplarville) up in a big spot. The Wildcat center fielder took the first pitch for a strike but sent the second one deep over the left field wall for a second three-run homer of the inning, 6-0.

Blinn didn’t let the deficit bother it as the Buccaneers rallied back to trail by just one run 6-5. An inning later, BCC capitalized on a PRCC miscue to square up the game at six apiece.

Nothing was doing for either team in the seventh as the game headed to extra innings.

The Buccaneers got a leadoff double to fall in the top of the eighth, but Natalie Herrington (Petal) forced two groundouts and a lineout to get out of the jam.

Pearl River put an end to the game in the bottom half of the inning. Klair Cuevas (Poplarville; Hancock) singled and advanced to second base on a passed ball. A Jena Pacheco (Vancleave) single followed and allowed Cuevas to move to third. Meadows fouled the first pitch she saw off before lining a single right back up the middle for a walk-off, 8-7 victory.

Herrington tossed 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits and one walk. She struck out two batters. Brinson Anne Rogers (Statesboro, Ga.) threw 1 2/3 innings, allowing five unearned runs on three hits and a walk.

Lavergne and Cartwright each finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk. Meadows was the only other Wildcat with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI.

PEARL RIVER 14, LSU EUNICE 6.

LSU Eunice (36-17) hit back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats roared back a half inning later. Cuevas was hit by a pitch and Toups knocked a single into left field, bringing up Lavergne. Lavergne stepped up and in nearly identical fashion to her game one homer, the freshman shortstop sent another three-run shot over the wall, 3-1.

Three RBI singles by the Bengals in the bottom of the second allowed them to move ahead 4-3.
Pearl River retook the lead in the fourth inning with a three-spot. Lavergne sent a ball along the ground into center field for a two-run single. After moving around to third base, she eventually scored on a wild pitch, 6-4.

A two-run homer by LSU Eunice in the bottom half of the inning tied up the score at six apiece.
PRCC moved ahead again in the fifth inning. Three singles by Cuevas, Ryleigh Wallace (Petal) and Toups loaded the bases. Cuevas scored on an error and Wallace came around to score on a wild pitch. Lavergne then drove in Toups with an RBI double. A two-run error off the bat of Bryn Daughtery (Vancleave) increased the lead to 11-6. Dallyn Nance (Nanih Waiya) brought two runs home on an error by the Bengal shortstop. Wallace capped the scoring by bringing home a run with a sacrifice fly, 14-6.

Bella Crawley (Ocean Springs) allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk. She struck out three batters. Daughtery threw the final 3 1/3 innings of the game. She allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out one.

Lavergne finished the game 3-for-4 with three runs and six RBIs. Toups was 3-for-4 with three runs. Destiney Gary (Greenwell Springs, La.; Central), Overstreet and Wallace all had two hits.

NEXT UP

The Wildcats hit the road on Tuesday for a big-time matchup against rival Jones College. The doubleheader will begin at 4 p.m. and will be livestreamed at JCBobcats.com/watch.

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