Blues Win Four Straight

PM Softball Peaking At Right Time

It seemed unlikely – perhaps even impossible – just a month ago. But suddenly Parry McCluer’s young softball team is on the verge of a shot at the Pioneer District championship.

The Blues, losers of six straight games during a stretch in April, extended their winning streak to four in a row with a pair of victories last week. PM toppled Highland County, 16-9, in eight innings to close out the regular-season last Tuesday (May 12) and rallied to top Craig County, 12-8, two days later in the first round of the league tournament.

Parry McCluer has now won five of its last six games and improved to 8-10 overall.

, page A11 PM 12, Craig County 8

Though the Blues finished in a three-way tie for second place in the regular-season standings, they had to settle for the third seed in the Pioneer District tournament thanks to a litany of convoluted and complicated tiebreakers. That set PM up against Craig County in the opening round last Thursday in Buena Vista, and it took a late rally to ensure the victory.

It did not look like that would be necessary early, however. After spotting the Rockets a 1-0 lead, PM exploded for four runs in the home half of the second inning.

Sophie Chittum led off the inning with a single and moved to second on an error. Sophia Bouchelle put the Blues on the scoreboard when her single plated courtesy runner Alyssa Snyder. With two outs in the inning, Zoey Tolley beat out an infield single to drive in another run to cap the PM rally.

The Blues scored three more times in the third. One of those runs scored on a Craig County error, and Tolley drove in two more with a single to left field to give the Blues a seemingly comfortable 7-1 lead.

But the Blues left six runners stranded in scoring position in the first four innings, including the bases loaded twice, and that would come back to haunt them.

Craig County cut the lead to 7-6 in the fifth inning, and with a pair of runs in the sixth, the Rockets moved in front. Holley Givens led off the inning with a single and moved around and tied the game on three straight wild pitches. Kiera Williams, who was hit by a pitch, put Craig County ahead for the first time since the opening inning when she scored on Rae Stamper’s RBI groundout.

The Blues had one last rally in them, though, scoring five times in the sixth, all with two outs.

With Bouchelle on second after a double and Lexi Armstrong on first after a walk, pinch hitter Harleigh Fulwider lofted a single to right field to plate one run and tie the game. Caroline Watts followed with a walk, and Tolley put the Blues back in front with another RBI single. Kendall Painter then singled to left to drive in two more runs, and a Rocket error allowed another to cross the plate, giving PM the 12-8 advantage.

Watts did the rest on the mound. After giving up a single to start the Craig County seventh, the PM freshman struck out the next three Rockets to preserve the victory and send the Blues to the Pioneer District semifinals.

Watts went the distance on the mound for Parry McCluer, giving up eight hits and striking out eight. Kammie Fisher took the loss, giving up 12 runs, only one earned, on 13 hits in her six innings of work.

Offensively, the Rockets were led by Stamper, who went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs. Jenna Boitnotte and Givens also had two hits for Craig County, which wrapped up its season with a 1-13 record.

Bouchelle, who has now hit safely in five of the last six games, was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate for the Blues with a pair of doubles and three runs scored. Tolley finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs, and Painter drove in two runs on three hits. Chittum finished 2-for-4 as the Blues pounded out 14 hits in the contest.

PM 16, Highland 10

The Blues kept their winning streak intact with a couple of late rallies, including a huge eighth inning to take down Highland in the regular-season finale in Monterey.

With the game tied, 9-9, Parry McCluer started the extra frame with Jordyn Hostetter at second base. She moved to third on a bunt single from Watts, and after Painter was intentionally walked to load the bases, Patience Hill singled to put the Blues back in front. Chittum drew a walk with the sacks full to push across another run, and Bouchelle’s sacrifice fly plated another to extend the PM lead to 12-9.

The Blues weren’t done there, however. A pair of Highland errors kept the rally going. Hostetter drove in two more runs with a single, and Tolley walked with the bases loaded a batter later, capping the seven-run eighth inning and giving the Blues a 16-9 lead.

The Rams, who hold a 6-9 record after slipping past Bath County, 1211, in the other first round game in the Pioneer District tournament, scored their ghost runner on an RBI single in the home half of the eighth, but Watts struck out the next batter she faced and ended the inning on a fly out to preserve the PM victory.

It was not easy for Watts, who surrendered nine hits in the game, but she picked up the victory after allowing just four earned runs and striking out three.

At the plate, the Blues pounded out 17 hits, including three each from Watts and Painter, who scored four times and picked up three RBIs. Tolley was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two runs driven in, while Chittum recorded three RBIs with her 2-for-4 effort. Sarah Dudley also had two hits and scored three times.

Highland scored three times in the first to take the early advantage, but the Blues rallied with two runs in the third and two more in the fourth, taking the lead when Watts singled to chase home Dudley, whose RBI single plated Armstrong.

The Blues extended their advantage to 5-3 when Painter and Chittum both doubled in the fifth, and then things got wild. Highland scored five times in the bottom of that inning, and the Blues responded with four runs in the sixth, with Painter driving in two of those runs with a single.

Highland tied the game in the bottom of the sixth without the benefit of a hit, using a walk and three wild pitches to scratch out a run. And the Rams had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the seventh when Kyn Smith opened the inning with a single and moved to third on consecutive wild pitches. But PM’s Hill snared a line drive for the second out, and the Blues recorded a crucial double play after a long run down to send the game into extra innings.

With the victory over Craig County, the Blues advanced to the district tournament’s semifinal round, where they faced off with Narrows Tuesday (May 19). The Blues also earned a spot in the upcoming Region 1C tournament; times and dates for that are pending the outcome of tournament play in both the Pioneer and Mountain Empire districts.