BEARVILLE — Seventh- ranked Pierce County split four home games during a busy week of softball action.
The Lady Bears (9-6) opened the week turning back visiting Class A DII ninth-ranked Wheeler County 8-2 Tuesday, September 2.
Class 5A ninth-ranked Coffee scored five times in the seventh inning Thursday, September 4 to beat PCHS 7-2. The victory gave the Lady Trojans the season sweep after posting a 9-8 win in Douglas August 16.
Pierce County also fell 7-2 Saturday, September 6 to Class 3A Long County in Game 1 of the Diamond Day tripleheader. PCHS bounced back to post a 106 victory over Class A DII second-ranked Lanier County.
The Lady Bears traveled Tuesday, September 9 to Cordele to face regionmate Crisp County. Topranked Cook comes to town Thursday, September 11. PCHS wraps up the week playing in the Burke County two-day tournament Friday, September 12 and Saturday, September 13.
Toombs County visits Bearville Monday, September 16. Region foe Tattnall County travels to town Tuesday, September 16 followed Thursday, September 18 by secondranked Appling County.
No. 7 Lady Bears......8 No. 9 Wheeler Co.....2
Pierce County used a five-run second inning to take a lead it would not relinquish in beating the Lady Bulldogs.
After leaving two on in the first, the Lady Bears took control in the second. Kaylee Figueroa (1-for-1) opened the frame with a walk, stole the first of her two bases, and trotted home on Harper Larson’s (1-for-3) first-pitch, homer to center for a 2-0 lead.
Olivia Bennett (3-for-4) kept the inning alive with a two-out single. She stole the first of her two bases ahead of Lanie Mai reaching on an error. Both runners raced home on Taylor Tomlinson’s (1-for-4) line drive single to center extending the lead to 4-0.
After Carley Sloan walked, Tomlinson moved to third on a passed ball. She scored the fifth run on a second passed ball.
Wheeler County scored both of its runs in the top of the third against Sloan (7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 7 K, 1 BB, 1 HBP) on a two-out, two-run single.
PCHS responded with a run in the home half of the third pushing the lead out to 6-2. Figueroa lined a leadoff single with Larson following with a walk. A two-out error on a fly ball off the bat of Bennett was misplayed allowing Figueroa to score.
The Lady Bears added two runs in the bottom of the fifth for the final 8-2 margin. Eva Horne (1-for-4) led off with a single and scored when Maelee Childers (1-for-3) followed with a triple. Childers crossed the plate on a dropped third strike.
No. 9 Coffee .............7 No. 7 Lady Bears ......2
The Lady Trojans pulled away from a 2-all tie plating five runs in the top of the seventh inning to beat PCHS.
Tomlinson (6+ IP, 6 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 K, 6 BB, 2 HBP) had limited Coffee to just two hits through six innings. The Lady Trojans exploded for two doubles, a single and a two-run homer to start the seventh opening up a 6-2 advantage. The final run scored on a passed ball.
The Lady Bears grabbed a 1-0 lead in their first at bat. Bennett (2-for-3) lined a leadoff single, stole second and moved to third on a groundout. She raced home one pitch later on a passed ball.
Coffee captured its first lead in the third inning scoring twice for a 2-1 advantage. A one-out, bases loaded walk tied the score and a hit batter one pitch later gave the Lady Trojans a one-run lead.
Bennett led off the Pierce County sixth with a game-tying solo homer, her third of the season.
Long County ............7 No. 7 Lady Bears ......2
Long County slowly pulled away from the Lady Bears scoring single runs in three innings capped by a four-run seventh in building a 7-0 lead and hanging on.
The Lady Blue Tide scored their first run on a two-out wild pitch in the third inning against Tomlinson (7 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 2 K, 0 BB, 2 HBP, 1 WP). A hit batter, stolen base and a groundout moved the runner to third.
PCHS was unable to take advantage of walks to Larson, Tomlinson and Sloan, the last two with two outs, in the bottom half of the frame.
A hit by pitch to start the fifth set up a Long County run for a 2-0 lead. A theft of second and third was followed by one-out RBI single.
After the Lady Bears stranded Mai (1-for-4), who reached on a twoout single for Pierce County’s first hit, and Tomlinson (walk), the visitors plated a third run in the sixth.
The Lady Blue Tide scored on a two-out passed ball in an inning extended by a leadoff error and a one-out single. A sacrifice bunt advanced both runners into scoring position.
Consecutive one-out errors in the seventh set Long County’s four-run rally in motion. The miscues were followed by consecutive run-scoring doubles upping the lead to 5-0. A two-out, tworun triple capped the uprising.
PCHS averted the shutout in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff walk to Larson and Bennett’s (1-for-3) two-run home to left, her fourth of the season.
No. 7 Lady Bears ....10 No. 2 Lanier Co........6
The Lady Bears used a six-run fourth inning to overcome a 5-3 deficit en route to knocking off Lanier County.
The Lady Bulldogs built a 3-0 lead in their first two at bats against Sloan (7 IP, 13 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 3 K, 2 BB, 1 WP) scoring a run in the first off an error and getting a RBI double and a two-out, run-scoring single in the second.
PCHS tied the score at 3-apiece in the bottom of the second. Larson (1-for-3) lined a leadoff single with Caren Drew (1-for-3) following two pitches later with her second roundtripper of the year, a two-run shot to right, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
Mai (2-for-3) followed reaching on an error, moved around to third on consecutive passed balls, and scored the tying run on Bennett’s (1-for-3) double.
Lanier County grabbed its last lead with a two-run third for a 5-3 advantage. The Lady Bulldogs scored on an error and two-out, bloop single.
Pierce County’s first three batters reached to start the fourth with Drew walking, Mai reaching on a sacrifice bunt and Childers’ batted ball being misplayed.
Bennett lifted a sacrifice fly scoring the first run. After a walk to Figueroa (1-for-3) reloaded the bases, Tomlinson (2-for-4) laced a two-run single for a 6-5 lead with Figueroa and Tomlinson advancing an extra base on the throw home.
Figueroa scored on a passed ball ahead of a walk to Sloan (2-for-3), who was lifted for courtesy runner Sophia White. After White stole second, Parker Sinclair (1-for-4) drove a 1-0 pitch for a two-run single plating Tomlinson and White for a 9-6 lead.
The Lady Bulldogs cut the deficit to 9-6 with solo homer to start the fifth.
PCHS got the run back in the bottom of the inning. Bennett reached on a two-out, two-base error and scored on Figueroa’s ensuing base hit extending the lead back to four runs at 10-6.
Lanier County left two runners on in the sixth and one in the seventh.
