PM Softball Earns Spot In Regionals
Parry McCluer earned a spot in the Region 1C softball tournament with a victory in the Pioneer District tourney. Based on the outcome of that game, the Blues garnered a home game as they begin play in the regionals.
PM rolled past Narrows, 16-6, in the semifinals of the Pioneer tournament last Monday (May 18) in Pearisburg, but the late-season surge for the Blues ended on Thursday (May 21) when they fell to Eastern Montgomery, 23-1, in Elliston.
PM 16, Narrows 6
“We went in there with a confident attitude, and with this young group, that helps,” said Parry Mc-Cluer head coach Troy Clark, whose team split the two regular-season games with the Green Wave. “They’ve relaxed a little bit, and you can tell the confidence has grown.”
The Blues pounded out 11 hits against Narrows and jumped on top early with four runs. Caroline Watts led off the game with a single, stole second, and raced in to score when Sophia Bouchelle laced a single of her own. Two errors allowed another run to score, and Harleigh Fulwider capped the scoring with her double to drive in two runs and give PM the 4-0 advantage.
That lead almost slipped away when the Green Wave scored three runs of their own in the bottom of the first, but the Blues responded with three more runs in the second to regain control.
Zoey Tolley singled and stole two bases to begin the rally, and after Bouchelle walked, Patience Hill singled to drive in Tolley. Bouchelle later scored on a passed ball, and Fulwider’s sacrifice fly chased home Hill to push the PM advantage to 7-3.
“That was big because this season has been kind of a rollercoaster,” said Clark, whose team boasts a 9-11 record after the tournament action. “It was big for us to do that. I think it kept them in a good state of mind. I kind of relieved [some pressure] by coming back and scoring.”
The Blues went on to score runs in every inning but the third, including four runs in both the fifth and sixth frames to pull away.
Narrows had several chances to get back into the game, getting runners in scoring position in all but one inning. But each time, PM pitcher Caroline Watts closed the door.
In the second, Narrows scored a single tally, but a runner was stranded at third base when Watts recorded one of her five strikeouts in the game. In the fourth, the Green Wave loaded the bases with one out, but Watts fanned another Narrows batter and induced a pop fly in the infield to get out of that jam. Narrows got another runner to third base in the fifth, but again a strikeout and infield fly ended that potential rally.
“Those are situations where early in the season we might have had a misplayed ball or a pitch that wasn’t quite there,” said the PM coach. “That strikeout was big. You could kind of feel the excitement, and it set the stage for the fifth inning.”
Watts went six innings on the mound to pick up the win, surrendering four earned runs on nine hits while striking out five and walking four.
Offensively, the Blues were led by Tolley, who went 3-for-5, including a triple, with four runs scored. Bouchelle had two hits to account for her two runs and three RBIs, and Fulwider went 2-for-2 with a double to drive in three. Watts finished 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot, scoring three times.
EM 23, PM 1
With the win over Narrows, the Blues advanced to the Pioneer District tournament’s championship game, but that turned out to be not much of a contest.
PM did jump on top early, taking a 1-0 lead after Watts walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Bouchelle’s RBI single in the first. But the Mustangs, winners of the Pioneer’s regular-season title as well, scored 17 runs over the first two innings to put the championship game away early.
Katie Salyer was 3-for-3 at the plate with four runs scored to pace the Eastern Montgomery offense, which finished with 13 hits and took advantage of six Parry McCluer errors. In total, four EMHS batters had two or more hits, including Macie Akers, who drove in five runs and helped the Mustangs improve to 16-6 on the season.
Bouchelle led the PM offense, recording two of the team’s three hits in the contest.
Next up for the Blues is the Region 1C quarterfinals. Parry McCluer will play host to George Wythe (20-4) in that first round game today, weather permitting, at 5 p.m.
“We’re going to have to play one of our better games to give ourselves a chance,” Clark said, noting that the Maroons, the third seed from the Mountain Empire District, is a complete team. “This is one of those games where we can’t have the errors; we have to play.”
