POPLARVILLE – 14 innings of regulation softball weren’t enough to settle things between Copiah-Lincoln and Pearl River in their MACJC south division doubleheader on Saturday in Poplarville. Both games went to an extra eighth inning with Co-Lin triumphing 7-4 in game one and Pearl River taking game two, 3-2.

Co-Lin 7, Pearl River 4 

A nip-and-tuck game went to extra innings tied 4-4 before the Lady Wolves exploded for three runs to take the victory

Co-Lin (14-11, 6-6) took their final lead in the eighth on a RBI double by Missy Romero that scored Beth Fortenbery. Romero scored later in the inning on a single by Kacie Berry. Co-Lin would get the final run of the game later in the inning when pinch runner Adrienne Wallace scored on a fly ball to left field by Co-Lin batter Kayla Craft. Wallace scored from first after an error by the Pearl River outfield.

“We had a great game at the plate in game one against a pitcher that had transferred in from Southern Miss. Really proud of the focus our girls showed at the plate,” said Lady Wolves head coach Allen Kent.

Romero went 2-3, drove in one, and scored two runs in game one. Savannah Johnston tripled for Co-Lin.

It was Johnston’s triple in the third that scored Craft and put Co-Lin on the scoreboard, tying the game at 1-1. Johnston would then score on a single by Breanna McKenzie.

Co-Lin pushed across one run in both the fourth inning and the sixth. In the fourth an RBI double by Craft scored Romero.

Down 4-3 in the top of the sixth, Co-Lin would start the inning with a base runner after Hannah Roberts was hit by a pitch. Roberts moved to second on a sacrifice fly by Romero. Roberts then moved to third on a groundout by Payton Sheffield. Roberts would then score on a huge two out single by freshman Kaitlin Cooksey that tied the game at four.

Brooke Gonzales was a workhorse in the circle while bagging the win for Co-Lin. She pitched eight innings and allowed one earned run, eight hits, and two walks while striking out three.

Rachel Hickman took the loss for Pearl River (14-10, 8-4). She allowed six runs in eight innings, walked none and struck out four.

Pearl River 3, Co-Lin 2 

Co-Lin trailed 1-0 until a Breanna McKenzie double in the top of the fourth scored Brooke Laigast. McKenzie scored later in the inning on a single by Hannah Roberts.

The 2-1 lead for Co-Lin stood until the bottom of the seventh when errors and close plays cost the Lady Wolves.

After tying it in the seventh, the Lady Wildcats filled the bases in the eight and won the game on a sacrifice bunt.

Rheagan Welch pitched 6.1 innings for Co-Lin. The freshman from Bogue Chitto gave up five hits and one earned run while striking out one and walking three.

“We should have won both of them, but we made an error in the seventh inning of game two and then we had some close plays go against us. I thought we had an out at first to end the game, but the umpire called her safe and they scored to tie it up on the play,” said Kent.

The game was designated as a lymphoma awareness game in honor of Pearl River head coach Leigh White, who has recently battled the disease. Purple is the official color of lymphoma awareness, and the Lady Wolves surprised the home crowd by showing up in special purple jerseys.

“I talked to the girls about maybe wearing purple ribbons, but they wanted to do more than that, and they really took the jersey idea and ran with it. This team has a big heart, and you could tell that the gesture meant a lot to Coach White and the Pearl River fans and administration,” said Kent.

The Lady Wolves return to Wesson Tuesday to host a divisional doubleheader with the Hinds Lady Eagles at 3 p.m.