YOUNGSVILLE, La. — No. 6 Pearl River was nearly untouchable in the circle Friday afternoon in the Mardis Gras Invitational as the Wildcats blanked Angelina 6-0 and Baton Rouge 1-0.
"Our pitchers came out today and didn't let anything affect them," head coach Christie Meeks said. "We've continued to work on that. Watching them stay composed and let nothing affect them was awesome."
PEARL RIVER 6, ANGELINA 0.
Pearl River (4-0 overall) set the tone right from the very first inning, with Morgan Lavergne (Baton Rouge, La.; Central) and Natalie Toups (Brandon; Clinton Christian Academy) drawing a pair of four-pitch walks. Lainee Bailey (Walker, La.) walked to load up the bases before Bryn Daughtery (Vancleave) drew the fourth walk of the opening frame to score the first run. Ashlyn Dean (Carriere; Pearl River Central) scratched across another for the Wildcats, grounding into a fielder's choice, 2-0.
It took no time for Natalie Herrington (Petal) to get settled in the circle, delivering back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the first and second innings to send The River right back to the dish to hit. Bailey continued her incredible start to the season at the plate, tripling to bring home a run, 3-0. The extra-base hit was her fifth of the season, just three games into the year. Two batters later, Dean sent an RBI double into center field to increase the lead another run, 4-0.
PRCC wouldn't add more runs until the top of the fifth inning, but the Wildcats did it in a big way. Dean stepped to the dish, took the first two pitches she saw and then blasted the third over the left field wall for a two-run homer — her second of the season, 6-0.
Six runs of support were more than enough for Herrington as the future Southern Miss Golden Eagle earned a shutout, allowing just two hits while striking out six batters.
Dean led the way on offense, finishing 2-for-4 with four RBIs.
PEARL RIVER 1, BATON ROUGE 0.
Runs were at a premium in the second game of the afternoon as Bailey and the Baton Rouge (2-3) pitcher matched each other pitch-for-pitch over the first two innings of the afternoon. Bailey worked around a one-out single in the third inning to retire the side and send PRCC to hit.
With two outs in the bottom of the third inning, PRCC's offensive leader from last season, Lavergne, stepped to the dish in a scoreless tie. She worked her way into a 2-2 count before unloading on the fifth pitch of the bat and sending it flying over the left field wall, 1-0.
"Mo was so calm and in control," Meeks said. "Their pitcher was really tough. She was getting us off-balance. Lainee and coach (Maddie) Antone talked about some adjustments that Lainee had made in her at-bat. Morgan listened to that, saw her pitch and drove it out."
With Bailey firing on all cylinders in the circle, Pearl River didn't need any more insurance runs. She faced only four batters in the fourth inning and retired the side in order in the top of the fifth. The sixth inning was more of the same for the Southeastern Louisiana transfer as she sandwiched a groundout between a pair of strikeouts.
The Bears didn't fold in the seventh inning of the contest, though, as the leadoff batter sent a ground ball up the middle for a single. BRCC laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runner up one base, getting into scoring position with one out.
The moment wasn't too big for Bailey, and she fired two straight pitches into the zone to get the next hitter into an 0-2 count. A ball and two foul balls made Bailey have to throw her sixth pitch of the at-bat, and she made it count, striking out the batter swinging. That's when freshman catcher Caitlyn Riche (Walker, La.) shined. She caught the third strike and looked toward second base to notice that the BRCC runner had come a little too far off the bag. She fired the ball behind her to second base and erased her from the basepaths, ending the game in the process.
"I never felt like we ever lost control of that game," Meeks said. "That was a big testament to Lainee and her control on the mound and Caitlyn's control behind the plate. They took away opportunities. When that runner got on, they were still in control. It was a perfect way to end the game by catching them off guard."
Bailey was fantastic in the circle during the contest, pitching a shutout. She allowed just four hits while striking out nine batters.
Lavergne, Bailey and Rounsaville were the only batters to collect a hit in the game. Bailey also drew a walk.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to Wildcat Stadium on Tuesday for a 3/5 p.m. doubleheader against Dillard.
TICKETS
Tickets are on sale now at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. General admission tickets are $8 per game. Season passes can be purchased for $75 for softball or a softball/baseball season pass can be purchased for $100.
HOW TO WATCH
The Wildcats will once again livestream all games 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.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).