SCOOBA, Miss. – The No. 5 Pearl River softball team walked out of Scooba with two impressive shutouts over East Mississippi on Saturday. The Wildcats, behind strong pitching by Lainee Bailey (Walker, La.) and a potent offense, won the first game 11-0 in five innings. In game two, Pearl River leaned on pitcher Bryn Daughtery (Vancleave) in her first start of MACCC play and timely offense in a 7-0 win.
"We have tried to push this all year; we are playing for something bigger. You are playing for something more important." Pearl River head coach Christie Meeks said after the sweep. "Every game is important, every game matters. If we keep that clear vision, nothing can stop you."
GAME ONE
Pearl River (33-6 overall; 15-3 MACCC) set the tone offensively early in game one against East Mississippi (12-18 overall; 4-12 MACCC). Following a Natalie Toups (Brandon; Clinton Christian Academy) single, pitcher Bailey sent the second pitch of her first at-bat over the center field wall to give the Wildcats an early 2-0 lead.
The Wildcat defense made quick work in the bottom of the first, retiring the Lions in order.
In the second inning, the Wildcat offense picked up where it left off in the first. Ashlyn Dean (Vancleave) reached first on a single to left field and advanced to second, following Charlee Meadows (Piave; Greene County) being hit by a pitch. A Morgan Lavergne (Baton Rouge; La.; Central) sacrifice advanced the runners to second and third base. Toups scored Dean and Meadows on her second hit of the game to give the Wildcats a 4-0 lead. Bailey scored Toups with a double on a line drive to right field, 5-0. Anna Kate Rounsaville (Gulfport) scored Bailey on a fielder's choice to the Lion shortstop, 6-0.
Bailey kept the Lions offense off balance in the bottom of the second, striking out two and only allowing one baserunner in the inning on a walk.
Both teams struggled to find offense through the third and fourth innings. Bailey struck out four Lion batters through the third and fourth innings.
The River added to its lead in the top of the fifth. Daughtery opened the inning with a double to left field. Pinch runner Klair Cuevas (Poplarville; Hancock) advanced to third on a Rounsaville fly out to center field. A Peyton Hoffmayer (Ocean Springs) fielder's choice scored Cuevas to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead. The next batter, Caroline Lindsey (Gulfport), came in to pinch hit for Caitlyn Riche (Walker, La.) and singled on a bunt to the Lion first baseman. Hoffmayer advanced to third on the play. Alexa Womack (Prairieville, La.; Dutchtown) loaded the bases for the Wildcat after being hit by a pitch. Meadows plated Hoffmayer and Lindsey on a single to the Lion shortstop, 9-0. Toups picked up her third hit of the game with a grounder to center field, scoring Womack and advancing Meadows to third, 10-0. Meadows closed out the scoring with a steal of home, and the Wildcats won in five innings, 11-0.
Bailey pitched all five innings, striking out nine and allowing only two hits. At the plate, Bailey was 3-for-4 with a home run and a double. Bailey had three RBIs and scored twice.
"Lainee, with both hitting and pitching, was calm and collected all day." Meeks said.
Toups was a perfect 4-for-4 from the plate with two RBIs and scoring two runs. Daughtery was 3-for-4 with a double.
GAME TWO
With starter Natalie Herrington (Petal) resting, the Wildcats called on Daughtery to take the mound and game two. And Daughtery delivered, pitching a complete game and only allowing three hits. The Wildcats offense did their part to help Daughtery. Not to rest on their laurels, the Wildcats opened game two, where they left off in game one. Toups picked up her fifth hit of the day at the top of the first with a double on a line drive to left field. Bailey followed with a walk, giving the Wildcats runners on first and second. Rounsaville scored Toups with a line drive double to left field, giving PRCC a quick 1-0 lead.
Pitcher Daughtery and the Wildcat defense did not allow a Lion baserunner in the first three innings with three consecutive three-up, three-down innings.
Daughtery reached first in the top of the fourth after being hit by a pitch. Lindsey brought her home on a monster home run to increase the Wildcat lead, 3-0. Not to be outdone, Dean sent the first pitch of the next at-bat over the left field wall, bringing the lead to 4-0 after four innings.
Rounsaville and Hoffmayer opened the sixth with back-to-back singles, and Lindsey loaded the bases on a fielder's choice. Dean continued with the hot bat, sending a double on a line drive to left, scoring Rounsaville and Hoffmayer, 6-0. Madelyn Bourgoyne (Walker, La.) entered the game to pinch hit for Lavergne and delivered with a single to center field, scoring Dean and giving the Wildcats a 7-0 win.
Daughtery pitched a complete game, striking out two and only allowing three hits.
"I am so proud of Bryn; she pitched a shutout all through seven innings," Meeks commented.
Dean was 2-for-3 from the plate with two runs scored and three RBIs. Rounsaville batted 2-for-4 with one run scored, and one RBI, and Toups batted 2-for-4 with one run scored. Lindsey batted 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBIs.
On the day, Toups was 6-for-8 with three RBIs and three runs scored.
"Nat had a huge day today; she worked really hard through her counts and further in her at-bats," Meeks said.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats will host rival Gulf Coast on Tuesday at Wildcat Stadium. Gametimes are 4/6 p.m.
TICKETS
Game day tickets can be purchased at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. General admission tickets are $8 per game.
HOW TO WATCH
The Wildcats 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.
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