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With strong hitting, fielding and pitching, the Parry McCluer High School softball team earned a 12-8 home win over previously undefeated Temple Christian on Tuesday of last week in Buena Vista.
With the victory, the Fighting Blues avenged their 11-8 road loss to Temple Christian on April 3.
Pleased with his team’s performance in the rematch, PM head coach Troy Clark said, “We’re starting to figure some things out. I think we’re hitting the ball better, we’re playing better defense, we’re running the bases better. It’s just a lot of little things we’ve been working on. … We’re young, but we’re starting to figure it out.”
The Blues would fall to 3-3 with a 13-8 home loss in nine innings to Rockbridge County on Friday.
In last Tuesday’s game the Crusaders (6-1), who won the Virginia Association of Christian Athletics state championship last year, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, scoring two runs on a double by Madison Cofer and adding another run on a bunt by Reagan Hensley.
PM responded by scoring four runs in the second to take a 4-3 lead. The Blues’ first two runs came on a grounder by Gracey Shafer that brought home Olivia Julian and Claudia Coleman. Later in the inning, Payton Emore doubled on a fly ball to center field that drove in Julian and Natalie Mohler.
The Blues added three more runs in the fourth. Logan Vest hit a grounder to bring home Emore and Vest scored on a groundout by Julian. Coleman then hit a grounder to left field to drive in Autumn Mundy, extending PM’s lead to 7-3.
The Crusaders came storming back in the top of the fifth. Cofer hit a fly ball to left field to bring home Zarihyah Harvey. Addy Camden then drove in two runs with a single to center field. After stealing second base and then third, Camden stole home to tie the game 7-7.
PM broke the tie in the bottom of the fifth when Emore singled on a grounder to left field to drive in Shafer, giving the Blues an 8-7 lead.
In the sixth, Julian singled on a grounder to bring home Mundy, and Victoria Hamilton hit a fly ball to center field to drive in Julian. Coleman then scored on a groundout by Shafer, and Alysa Wheeler doubled on a fly ball to center field to bring home Hamilton, extending PM’s lead to 12-7.
TC scored one more run in the top of the seventh when Kylie Ewers doubled on a fly ball to left field to drive in Gabbie Walton. The Crusaders got a single and a walk before Wheeler made a catch in left field to end the game. Emore led the Blues with three hits, while Coleman, Hamilton and Julian added two hits each. Hensley paced the Crusaders with three hits, while Cofer, Camden, Harvey and Millie Cundiff added two hits each.
Coleman pitched the first 4.2 innings for PM, striking out five and allowing seven hits, one walk and seven runs. “She was solid,” said Clark of Julian. “She started losing her control right there at the end, and I kept her in as long as I could. I was proud of the way she pitched.”
Julian came to the mound for the final 2.1 innings, surrendering five hits, one walk and one run.
PM committed two errors, while the Crusaders had none.
The Blues were scheduled to play at Craig County yesterday and will play a nondistrict game at Roanoke Catholic today, Wednesday, before returning to Pioneer District action at home against Narrows on Thursday. They’ll conclude a busy week on Friday when they play host to Roanoke Catholic.
All games are scheduled for 5 p.m. PM will play host to Nelson County in a nondistrict game on Monday at 7 p.m., following the junior varsity game at 5 p.m., and the Blues’ varsity team will return to district action on Tuesday at Covington at 5 p.m.
