COLUMBUS, Ga. — The Pearl River Softball team traveled to Georgia on Friday to participate in the NFCA Leadoff Classic. The Wildcats took advantage of early offense and solid pitching to sweep Illinois Central and Triton (6-4, 7-0).
"To travel 5.5 hours and have the energy we played with tonight was a win all in itself," Pearl River coach Christie Meeks said. "We are so proud of this team. They are celebrating each other's success like it's their own and that is truly special to have."
PEARL RIVER 6, ILLINOIS CENTRAL 4
Pearl River (14-4 overall) opened the scoring quickly in the bottom of the first after Morgan Lavergne (Baton Rouge, La; Central) slashed a ball over the glove of the diving Cougar (5-7) left fielder for a leadoff double. Shortly after, Cassidy Cartwright (Poplarville) deposited a ball over the left field wall on the first pitch of the at-bat to give Pearl River a 2-0 lead. With the Wildcats still leading 2-0 in the top of the third, Lavergne lined her second double of the game into right field. Dallyn Nance (Nanih Waiya) chopped a ball inside the foul line at third to score Lavergne with a double. Julianah Overstreet (Vancleave) continued the scoring with a line drive into right for a single, scoring Nance and setting the score at 4-0.
The Cougars responded in the bottom half of the inning with three runs of their own to cut the deficit to 4-3. From there, both pitchers settled in and neither offense could string anything together until the seventh. Lavergne again provided a spark for the Pearl River offense with another hard-hit double into left field. Nance then hammered a double deep into centerfield to score Lavergne. Cartwright capped off the scoring with the third Wildcat double of the inning to pad the lead, 6-3.
Despite a two-out rally that scored another Cougar run, Mya Young (Paxton, Fla) shut the door and give the Wildcats a 6-4 victory in game one.
Young got the start in game one and tossed all seven innings, striking three.
"Mya did a great job in game one by staying confident and spinning the ball," Meeks said.
Lavergne set the table for Pearl River offensively with three doubles and scoring three runs.
"I mean what more can you say about her," Meeks said. "She is not only a great player but also an outstanding teammate that wants to win at every second. The best part is, she is such a humble player and what a day for her."
Nance finished with two doubles of her own as well as two RBIs and scored two runs. Cartwright had a two-run home run as well as a double. She drove in three runs.
PEARL RIVER 7, TRITON 0
The Wildcats picked up right where they left off in game two with three straight singles to start the bottom of the first in by Lavergne, Nance, and Overstreet. With the bases loaded and no outs, Cartwright drew a walk to score Lavergne. The scoring continued moments later after Bryn Daughtery (Vancleave) chopped a ball that was misplayed by the Trojan (3-8) shortstop allowing Nance and Overstreet. Klair Cuevas (Poplarville; Hancock) capped off the scoring with a ground ball that scored Cartwright and extended the lead 4-0.
Natalie Herrington (Petal) wasted no time getting her offense back out for the second inning by striking out the side in order. After a scoreless bottom half of the second and top of the third inning, The Wildcats struck in the bottom of the third with Ashlyn Dean (Picayune; Pearl River Central) with a frozen rope into left field that scored Cartwright. Destiny Gary (Greenwell Springs, La; Central) drove in the final run of the inning with a sacrifice fly that allowed Kallie Hunt (Picayune) to score and gave Pearl River a 6-0 lead.
Overstreet drove in the final run of the night in the fourth inning with a hard ground ball to short that scored Nance to set the score 7-0. From there, Herrington carved through the Triton College batting order to give Pearl River a 7-0 victory.
Herrington was lights out in game two for the Wildcats, tossing a complete game shutout. She also struck out 13 batters.
"Nat was on fire in game two and showed with a commanding presence tossing a shutout with 13 strikeouts," Meeks said.
Lavergne, Nance, and Dean all collected two hits. Overstreet, Cartwright, and Gary all had a hit each. Cuevas, Overstreet, Cartwright, Dean, and Gary drove in a run each.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats take on day two of the NFCA Leadoff Classic beginning tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. against Parkland. PRCC will take on Lansing at 2 p.m. followed by North Dakota State at 4 p.m.
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