Seventh-ranked Pierce County split a pair of Region 3-AA matchups posting a road win and falling at home.
The Lady Bears (10-6, overall, 2-1 region) blanked Crisp County (38, 0-3) 11-0 Tuesday, September 9 in Cordele, handing the Lady Cougars an eighth consecutive loss.
Top-ranked Cook (15-1, 4-0) notched a seventh consecutive victory handing PCHS an 11-3 loss in five innings. The Lady Hornets beat secondranked Appling County 31 two nights earlier at home.
The Lady Bears ended the week knocking off overmatched Burke County 18-0 in three innings Friday, September 12 in Waynesboro.
PCHS hosted Toombs County in a non-region tilt Monday, September 15. Region foe Tattnall County visited Tuesday, September 16.
The Lady Bears travel to Baxley, Thursday, September 18 for a 6 p.m. start with second-ranked Appling County. They go to Brunswick Tuesday, September 23 and return home Thursday, September to face Crisp County at 5 p.m.
No. 7 Lady Bears.....11 Crisp County ...........0
CORDELE — Carley Sloan tossed a one-hit shutout as PCHS cruised to the win against the Lady Cougars.
Pierce County took charge early with a fourrun first and finished off the game with a five-run fifth to have the “mercy rule” invoked.
Sloan needed 81 pitches to get through five innings. The lone hit came with one out in the third inning. Sloan fanned six and walked one.
The Lady Bears got off to a quick start scoring two runs in the first three batter en route to a 4-0 lead. Olivia Bennet (1-for-3) drew a leadoff walk, stole second and advanced to third when Kaylee Figueroa’s (1-for-4) fly ball was misplayed.
Both scored on Tomlinson’s (1-for-3) ensuing first-pitch double. After advancing via tag on a flyout, Tomlinson scored on Parker Sinclair’s (1-for-2) sacrifice fly to center.
Harper Larson (2-for-2) followed with a two-out, four-pitch walk to keep the inning alive. Larson stole second and scored on Caren Drew’s (1-for-2) run-scoring single.
Tomlinson led off the two-run third with an eight-pitch walk after falling behind 0-2 in the count. Sloan (1-for-3) drilled the ensuing pitch for a single.
Tomlinson and Sloan’s courtesy runner, Sophia White, tagged and advanced a base on Sinclair’s flyball out. Larson followed slapping a 1-2 pitch for a two-run double as the lead swelled to 6-0.
PCHS iced the game in the fifth with a five-run uprising. Sinclair and Larson laced back-to-back, one-out doubles for the first run growing the lead to 7-0. Larson raced home when Drew’s grounder was thrown away for an eight-run cushion. Lanie Mai (1-for-3) legged out a firstpitch sacrifice bunt as did Maelee Childers (1-for-3) loading the bases.
Drew and Mai scored on Bennett’s first-pitch single extending the lead to 10-0. Figueroa’s ensuing infield hit plated Childers with the final run.
No. 1 Cook ........................................................11 No. 7 Lady Bears ....................................3, 5 Inn.
BEARVILLE — A seven-run first inning gave the visiting Lady Hornets a huge lead en route to beating Pierce County.
The first eight batters reached to open the game for Cook chasing Sloan (0 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 0 K, 1 BB) with the early barrage. The Lady Hornets banged out five hits, drew two walks and capitalized on back-to-back errors in the frame.
The visitors scored an unearned run in the second against Tomlinson (5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 K, 2 BB, 1 HBP) extending the lead to 8-0. Cook had consecutive singles to open the inning followed by a run-scoring error.
PCHS sandwiched walks to Drew and Childers around the first out. Bennet (1-for-3), after fouling off consecutive pitches, deposited a 2-2 pitch over the fence in right for a three-run homer, her fifth of the season, cutting the deficit to 8-3.
Cook tacked on three runs in the fifth inning for an eight-run advantage. Consecutive one-out walks and a base hit scored the first run. An ensuing sacrifice fly and a two-out single finished off the scoring.
No. 7 Lady Bears..............................................18 Burke County.........................................0, 3 Inn.
WAYNESBORO — Pierce County made quick work of homestanding Burke County in three innings.
The visiting Lady Bears scored three in the first inning, 10 in their second at bat to blow the game open, and five in the third inning.
PCHS, which managed seven hits, benefitted from seven walks, three batters hit and five homestanding Lady Bears miscues.
Bennett (1-for-2) continued her home run surge blasting her sixth of the year and second in as many games with a three-run shot in the second.
Drew, Larson and Figueroa each had a base hit and two ribbies. Kabela Reddick drove in one run and had a base hit. White drove in two runs.
Tomlinson worked the first two innings allowing a base hit. She fanned three, walked two, hit a batter and uncorked a wild pitch. Sloan finished up striking out two of the three batters she faced.
