CLARKSDALE, Miss. — The No. 8 Pearl River softball team was powered by its biggest offensive output of the season in a sweep of Coahoma Saturday. The Wildcats took game one 13-0 and game two 23-0.
"It's never easy to go to someone else's field and sweep them. That's a testament to how tough this league is," head coach Christie Meeks said. "We are very proud of two great conference wins."
"I have said it before, but this team celebrates each other's success like they are their own," Meeks said. "It is a great feeling watching them all thrive in the small things which in turn leads to one big victory for us as a team."
After the game, Meeks talked about how proud she was of her team.
"We are proud of our hitters for staying focused and composed at the plate," She said. We are also proud of our pitching staff for staying steady and throwing two more combined shutouts."
GAME ONE
Pearl River (16-9 overall; 6-2 MACCC) wasted no time getting on the board in the first game, scoring within the first two batters. Taelor York (Choctaw; Clinton Christian Academy) got things started by singling and stealing second base. Hannah Miller (Kokomo; West Marion) laced a ball down the left field line, scoring York from second to give Pearl River a 1-0 lead. Miller then found herself at third and was driven in by a Keigan Pearson (Carriere; Pearl River Central) sacrifice fly, increasing the lead 2-0.
Brinson Rogers (Statesboro, Ga) stepped into the circle in the bottom half of the inning and despite allowing a leadoff walk, struck out the next three batters in order to retire the side.
Payton Lee (Picayune; Pearl River Central) led off the second with a walk and came around to score on a triple by York. York scored shortly after on an error.
Miller doubled and scored again on a sacrifice fly by Dallyn Nance (Nanih Waiya).
Madelyn Burch (Franklinton, La; Bowling Green) came in to pitch for Pearl River in the third and struck out two of the three batters she faced in the inning.
In the fourth, the Wildcats extended their lead after Lee and Emily Rigney (Waynesboro; Wayne County) reached and were driven in by a Madi Waters (Laurel; West Jones) single.
Pearl River was not done there as they proceeded to load the bases for Pearson, who promptly unloaded them with a grand slam.
Shortly after, Bethany Fewell (Mendenhall) and Makiya Hunter (Jackson; Clinton Christian Academy) scored on a Lee single that extended the lead to 13-0.
The Wildcats road the big lead to victory taking game one by way of a run-rule 13-0 victory.
Rogers got the start in game one and pitched two innings striking out five. Burch pitched the final three innings. She allowed no runs and no hits and struck out three.
York and Miller led the way offensively with two hits each. Waters, Hunter, Lee, Rigney, and Pearson all had a hit. York, Lee, and Miller all scored twice.
Waters, Hunter, Aunie Rethmeyer (Belle Chasses, La), Julianah Overstreet (Vancleave), Pearson, Waters, and Rigney all scored a run. Pearson led the team with five RBIs
"Keigan had a great day at the plate with a big homer. She has worked hard for that," Meeks said. "We had to adjust some things and ended up moving her down in the lineup a few weeks back. It was good to see her have some great quality at-bats.
Lee and Waters tied for second with two apiece. York, Miller, and Nance finished with one RBI each.
GAME TWO
The Wildcats came out on fire once again in the second game of the day as York reached base before she came around to score on an error.
Overstreet brought Miller around to score shortly after on a double, increasing the lead to 2-0.
Rethmeyer drove Overstreet in after with a single extending the lead to 3-0.
Lee drove Rethmeyer in with a single a few batters later and Hunter scored after on an error to blow things open 5-0 in favor of the Wildcats.
Hannah Embry (Vicksburg; Porters Chapel) pitched around a leadoff walk by retiring the next three batters in order.
Pearl River continued to pile it on in the second by loading the bases for Rethmeyer who ripped a double down the left field line scoring Nance and Miller. Pearson continued to swing a hot bat by drilling a single into centerfield and scoring Overstreet from third extending the lead to 9-0. The Wildcats were not done there as they added two more runs courtesy of back-to-back singles by York and Waters. Overstreet singled and drove York in to continue the blowout 14-0. Rethmeyer then capped the scoring in the inning with a groundout that extended it to 15-0.
The Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning, but Embry ended the threat by inducing a ground out.
Pearl River continued to pile it on in the third as Janna Peterson (Poplarville) scored on a fielder's choice. Two more runs scored after Overstreet laced a single into centerfield.
Waters came around to score a few moments later increasing the lead to 19-0.
The scoring barrage continued as Erin Daughtery (Vancleave) drove in two with a double and later scored after Hunter launched a ball over the left field wall for a 2-run blast, setting the score at 23-0. The Wildcats rode the offensive explosion to another run-rule victory 23-0.
Embry pitched two innings, allowing no runs on a hit. She also struck out three batters.
Makaya Necaise (Kiln; Hancock) closed things out in the final inning and allowed no runs.
Overstreet was a force for the Wildcats in game two collecting four hits and five RBIs. She also scored three runs. York and Rethmeyer finished with two hits.
Waters, Nance, Pearson, Daughtery, Hunter, and Lee all had a hit. Rethmeyer tallied four RBIs.
Waters, Pearson, Daughtery, and Hunter all had two RBIs. York and Lee finished with an RBI apiece.
UP NEXT The Wildcats return home on Tuesday to take on archrival Gulf Coast. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
TICKETS Single-game tickets are available now and can be purchased at PRCCAthletics.com/tickets.
TUNE IN All home Pearl River softball games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app stores.
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