The Southwest Mississippi Community College softball team’s first playoff contest was a heart-breaker as the host Itawamba Lady Indians scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to win a pitcher’s duel, 2-0, Saturday in Fulton.
The teams will meet again at 1 p.m. today in Fulton for Game 2 of the best-of-three series. A win for the Lady Bears (23-20) will force a deciding game three, also tomorrow afternoon.
Both teams squandered scoring chances through the first 5½ innings Saturday. The Lady Indians (38-8), ranked seventh in the NJCAA, used a single and two errors to record both runs in their half of the sixth.
Lady Bears’ head coach Shea Johnson said his team “played really well and I was proud of their effort”, but “we’re going to have to have more quality at bats.”
Macy Fulton took the complete-game loss in the circle, despite another outstanding performance. She allowed two runs, both unearned, on five hits while striking out two.
Jenna Duff had a double and single for the Lady Bears while Jordan Fitzgerald and Austin Pruitt both had a single.
