Pierce County split a pair of non-region affairs and had a third postponed before Region 3-AA play begins this week.
The Lady Bears (6-2) began the three-game work slate with a 9-1 “mercy rule” win over visiting Camden County (3-5) Tuesday, August 19.
PCHS followed with a 84 loss at Class 5A eighthranked South Effingham (2-1) Wednesday, August 20.
The Thursday August 21 battle at then state-ranked Wayne County was postponed by weather.
The Lady Bears played host Monday, August 25 to Class A DI second-ranked Jeff Davis. They opened Region 3-AA play Tuesday, August 26 at Tattnall County. Second-ranked Appling County visits Thursday, August 28 to wrap up the week.
PCHS will host Wheeler County Tuesday, September 2, Coffee Thursday, September 4 and Long County and Lanier County in a Saturday, September 6 triple-header.
No. 8 Lady Bears.......9 Camden County.........1
BEARVILLE — Carley Sloan backed her one-hit pitching performance, blasting one of three roundtrippers by the Lady Bears in the win over Camden County.
Caren Drew (1-for-3, three RBIs), Taylor Tomlinson (2-for-3) and Sloan (1-for-2) blasted the homeruns. Sloan fanned two and walked three with the Lady Wildcats’ run unearned.
Camden County scored its lone run in its at bat. The Lady Wildcats scored on a one-out single that followed a walk and an error.
PCHS answered with two runs in the bottom of the first. Olivia Bennett drew a leadoff walk, stole second and third and scored on Lanie Mai’s sacrifice fly to left tying the score at 1-all.
Tomlinson followed with a first pitch single, stole second and scored the goahead run when Kaylee Figueroa’s ensuing fly ball was misplayed into a twobase error.
The Lady Bears blew the game open in the third inning with a six-run outburst in opening up an 8-1 advantage. Tomlinson’s one-out, solo homer, her second of the year, started a streak of six consecutive batters reaching.
Figueroa and Sloan followed with walks. Figueroa, who stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball, and Sloan’s courtesy runner Zoe O’Berry, executed a delayed double steal with Figueroa scoring for a 4-1 lead.
After Parker Sinclair (1for-2) singled, Eva Hornes’ (1-for-2) ensuing single plated O’Berry. Drew launched the ensuing pitch over the fence in left-center for a three-run homer, her first of the season, to cap the uprising.
PCHS ended the game in the bottom of the fifth with Sloan’s leadoff homer, her second of the season.
No. 8 S. Effingham...8 No. 8 Lady Bears......4
RINCON — The Lady Mustangs used back-toback three-run innings to pull away from a 2-all deadlock and double up Pierce County.
South Effingham scored single runs in the first two innings on a pair of twoout singles in taking a 2-0 lead against O’Berry (4.2 IP, 3 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 3 K, 9 BB, 3 HBP, 1 WP).
PCHS evened the score in the top of the fourth scoring twice after two outs. No-hit over the first three innings, Sloan’s (1for-3) two-out single kept the inning alive.
Sinclair’s (2-for-2) ensuing single drove home Tomlinson, who had reached on a one-out walk. Horne (1-for-3) followed two pitches later with a game-tying, runscoring double. Sinclair’s courtesy runner, Sophie White, was tagged out at the plate trying to score the go-ahead run.
The Lady Mustangs responded with a three-run bottom of the inning. After loading the bases with one out on a pair of walks and an error, South Effingham took the lead for good on a sacrifice fly. Two more walks forced home a run followed by a run-scoring single for a 5-2 advantage.
South Effingham dented the plate three more times in the bottom of the fifth in taking an 82 lead. A bases-clearing, two-out double followed a walk to keep the inning moving.
The Lady Bears scored twice in the top of the seventh on consecutive twoout errors by the home team.
Bennett (1-for-3) reached on a two-out single and scored when Mai’s (1-for-4) grounder was booted into a three-base error. Tomlinson’s ensuing grounder was booted allowing Mai to score for the final four-run margin.
