WESSON, Miss. — The No. 13 Pearl River softball team used a three-run seventh inning in the doubleheader nightcap to secure a split against No. 8 Copiah-Lincoln Wednesday night in Wesson. The Wildcats dropped a challenging game one 9-5 but bounced back in a big way with a 4-1 game two victory. 

“That was a great split for us on the road today,” PRCC head coach Christie Meeks said of the Wildcats’ split with Co-Lin. “Our energy in game two was unmatched. We fought hard in game one and just kept fighting in game two. They were all selfless, cheering for each other, and loved seeing each other succeed.”

 

GAME ONE

Game one started as a defensive battle as both Pearl River (29-8 overall; 13-3 MACCC) and Co-Lin (24-8 overall; 11-3 MACCC) went three-up, three-down in the first inning. 

The Wildcats got on the board first in the top of the first inning. Cassidy Cartwright (Poplarville) singled on a hard grounder to left field to open the top of the inning. Bryn Daughtery (Vancleave) followed Cartwright with a walk. Natalie Toups (Brandon; Clinton Christian Academy) advanced Cartwright to third base with a fielder’s choice. Marisa West (Citronelle, Ala.; LeRoy) fired a line drive to center field to score Cartwright and give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. 

The Wildcat defense kept the Co-Lin offense at bay in the bottom of the second with a couple of great defensive efforts. Right fielder Dallyn Nance (Nanih Waiya) made a long run on a ball drifting into foul territory to make a great play for the first out of the inning. Second baseman CharLee Meadows (Piave; Greene County) tracked down a fly ball behind first base for the second out. Starter Natalie Herrington (Petal) picked up her second strikeout of the game to end the inning. 

Co-Lin took the lead in the bottom of the third with two runners on base; a Wolves single to center field scored two runs, 2-1. A couple of batters later, the Wolves scored on another single to center field to increase their lead 3-1. Bella Crawley (Ocean Springs) came in on relief with one out. A Co-Lin double scored two more runs, 5-1, before a Wildcat double play ended the inning. 

The Wolves plated two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to increase their lead to 7-1. 

Daughtery opened the top of the sixth inning with a big solo home run over the left field wall, 7-2. With Toups and Meadows on second and first, respectively, a Lavergne single scored Nance, and Meadows advanced to third. Destiney Gary (Greenwell Springs, La.; Central) doubled to center in the next at-bat to score Meadows and close the lead to three, 7-4. 

The Wolves scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to increase their lead to five, 9-4. 

Dean brought the Wildcats within four with an RBI single in the top of the seventh. 

Daughtery was 2-for-3 with a solo home run. Nance and Lavergne each hit 3-for-4 from the plate with one RBI apiece. 

 

GAME TWO

The Wildcats broke out of its offensive slump in the top of the seventh in game two to secure a split against the Wolves. 

The game started as a defensive battle, with neither team generating any offense. Brinson Anne Rogers (Statesboro, Ga.) kept the Wolves batters out of sync in the first two innings, striking out four. 

The Wildcats scored first in the top of the fourth to grab a 1-0 lead. Nance reached base on an error by the Co-Lin third baseman. Two batters later, Cartwright crushed a double to left center to score Nance. 

The Wolves tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, scoring on a sacrifice fly with bases loaded, 1-1.

Pearl River’s offense found its groove in the top of the seventh to break the game open. Dean opened the seventh with a walk and advanced to second on a Gary sacrifice bunt. Ryleigh Wallace (Petal) was called on to pinch hit and answered with an infield single, sending Dean to third. Dean scored to bring the lead to 2-1 on an error off the bat of Lavergne. Lavergne scored two batters later after an Overstreet hit into an error by the Co-Lin shortstop, 3-1. A Cartwright single over the Wolf pitcher scored Nance to close out the scoring 4-1.

The Wildcat defense came up big in the bottom of the seventh to secure the 4-1 win. With two outs and a runner on first, Nance made a diving catch for the third out. 

“Dallyn was clutch with some big catches,” Meeks said of Nance’s defense in the outfield. 

Cartwright batted 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Overstreet and Lavergne each had one RBI a piece. 

“Cartwright was driven tonight,” Meeks commented on Cartwright’s clutch-hitting performance. “She believed in herself and her teammates.”

Rogers pitched a complete game with five strikeouts, allowing one earned run on three hits. 

“Brinson was extremely tough on the mound, and our outfield made some outstanding catches,” Meeks said of the Wildcat defense on the night. 

 

NEXT UP

The Wildcats host East Mississippi for a doubleheader on Friday. Game times at Wildcat Stadium are 2/4 p.m.

 

CASHLESS BOX OFFICE 

To help improve traffic flow and fan experience, PRCC athletics box offices will be cashless in 2022-23. Only credit and debit cards will be accepted at the box office. Fans are encouraged to beat the lines and purchase their tickets in advance at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets.

 

TUNE IN 

Pearl River livestreams all home 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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