School isn’t in session yet, but the Lady Pioneers have already notched their first victory of the season.
The Lady Pioneers began their season on a winning note Friday night with a 4-0 shutout win over the Porter’s Chapel Academy Lady Eagles.
Junior pitcher Alli Albritton displayed a dominant performance on the mound, throwing a complete game shutout while allowing just two hits, three walks and striking out 12 batters.
Albritton earned the victory and head coach Greg Gatlin was proud of her performance and ability to fight through adversity.
“She threw a shutout and did not have her best stuff,” he said. “She’s that good. We talk all the time about how it’s easy to pitch when you have your good stuff. It’s harder when you don’t have your stuff and you have to really focus in and try to get it done. She did that tonight and she did very well.”
Lana Johnson and Halee Jenkins each singled to lead off the bottom of the second inning. Nan Gatlin reached first base on an error committed by the Lady Eagles’ infield and loaded the bases for Albritton. Albritton grounded out, but picked up an RBI as Johnson scored and put the Lady Pioneers ahead 1-0.
Meg Gatlin singled to lead off the bottom of the third inning, Liberty Gillihan bunted into a fielder’s choice, and Libby Carr was walked to load the bases again for the Lady Pioneers. A sac fly from Jenkins scored Gatlin and gave the Lady Pioneers a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, with the bases loaded, Georgia Lindsey hit a pop fly into centerfield, but an error committed by the Lady Eagles’ center fielder Sara Grace Daniels allowed Jenkins and Nan Gatlin to score.
Jenkins finished the game with two hits and one RBI in three plate appearances. Carr, Johnson, and Alli Robinson each had a stolen base.
“It’s always good to get a win,” Gatlin said. “Especially in the home opener. I’m proud of them for that. We struggled a little bit in the beginning, but Porter’s Chapel has got a really good pitcher in Hannah Embry. I told the girls before the game that she was going to be good and that we needed to work the count and get it into our favor.”
Embry pitched six innings and allowed six hits and three walks while striking out seven batters.
While proud of the win, Gatlin still sees room for his team to improve.
“Based on this first game, we’ve got to get better at getting runners in when we have them in scoring position,” he said. “We had the bases loaded twice with no outs and only scored two runs. We can’t do that in future games, but we’re going to work on it and get better.”
The Lady Pioneers will hit the road to face Copiah Academy at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday night.
