Facing tough pitching and strong hitting, the Parry McCluer High School softball team concluded its season with a 12-0 home loss in five innings to George Wythe in the Region 1C quarterfinals on Wednesday evening in Buena Vista.
The Fighting Blues wrapped up the year with a record of 9-12, while the Maroons (21-4) advanced to the Region 1C semifinals.
GW jumped on the Blues early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first before lightning delayed the game 30 minutes. The Maroons added two runs in the second and another four runs in the third to extend their lead to 7-0. GW then scored two more runs in the fourth and added three runs in the fourth to make it 9-0 before a long lightning delay stopped the game.
When the rain and lighting stopped and play resumed, not long before sunset, the Maroons got PM out in the bottom of the fourth, with pitcher Morgan Layne throwing two strikeouts. GW scored its final three runs in the top of the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, PM’s Lexi Armstrong singled on a fly ball to left field with two outs and then stole second base on a wild pitch, but Layne ended the game with a strikeout. For the game, Layne struck out eight.
Pitching a complete game for the Blues was Caroline Watts, striking out two to complete a strong freshman season.
The young Blues, who had no seniors, went 5-5 to finish third in the Pioneer District this year and made progress throughout the season. In the first three weeks of May, they went on a five-game winning streak that included a 16-6 upset win at second-seeded Narrows in the district semifinals. Their winning streak ended with a 23-1 loss at top seed Eastern Montgomery in the district finals.
Under the direction of 12th-year head coach Troy Clark, the Blues had three juniors, eight sophomores and two freshmen.
For the season wrap-up story, with photos from the regional quarterfinals, please see our June 3 newspaper.
