PETAL – Petal continues to roll after winning its 12th straight game on Tuesday night after defeating rival Oak Grove 3-1 while opening region play with a victory.
The Lady Panthers, who were swept by Oak Grove last year, had a memorable performance from starting pitcher Natalie Herrington, who struck out 11 batters and drove in a run on the night.
“That was a good win against a quality team,” Petal coach Wendy Hogue said. “(Herrington) works hard and wants it. There is a switch that is flipped in her mind. There is no turning it off. You may get a hit, you may score a run, but she’s doing well with her defensive game. She is seeing the ball well at the plate.”
“What I feel good about is (the team’s) confidence and their work ethic. We come out every day, and they have fun, work hard and hold themselves accountable. Really all I do is write a lineup.”
In the top of the first inning, Oak Grove (12-4, 1-1) had a chance to jump ahead after putting runners on at second and third base with no outs. Herrington clamped down as she came up with a comebacker to her for a putout, a strikeout and then had a flyout go straight to her.
“I just changed my perspective,” Herrington said. “I wanted to do everything in my power for them to stay at second and third. It was almost like a switch flipped. I want to do it for my team. But my goal is to strike them out because I don’t want a ball in play”.
Then at the bottom of the frame, Petal (13-1, 1-0) capitalized on the momentum. After Kinley Hogue led the inning off with a double, Herrington drove her in with an RBI single. Late with two outs, Emma Kate Fimiano delivered with an RBI triple and then scored on a passed ball to give Petal a 3-0 lead.
“EK has been swinging the bat,” Hogue said. “I told someone yesterday that there is nobody that works harder on their hitting than EK. The outfield came in a little bit, and EK plays with a chip on her shoulder, and she got a pitch to hit and, fortunately, was on time. That third run was a big run.”
After the first inning, Oak Grove starting pitcher Ryanne Hornsby gave up just one other hit.
“(Ryanne) does that a lot,” Oak Grove coach Benjy Hornsby said. “She has done that her whole career, but once she settles in, she’s in. It’s just getting through that first inning. That comes with the competitiveness.”
Oak Grove’s lone run came in the third inning after leadoff hitter Bailey Bishop came up with her second base hit of the game. Ryanne Hornsby drove in Bishop with an RBI single to narrow the lead to 3-1.
The Lady Warriors had a chance to tie the game in the sixth after coming up with back-to-back singles with one out. However, Herrington shut the threat down after inducing a groundout and striking out another batter.
Oak Grove outhit Petal 6-4 with Lady Warriors leaving five runners on base. Four of the five runners stranded were left in scoring position. Hornsby finished the game allowing three runs off four hits while striking out four batters and hitting one batter.
“The first inning, I’m not sure what happened there,” Benjy Hornsby said. “Once we settled in, it was our ball game. Ryanne did what she did, and our defense did what they did. We had some good hits. We just didn’t swing them together when we needed to.
“It’s aggravating, but it is what it is. We have a young team. If you leave five on base and you are up 20-0, then that’s not a lot. In a close game like this, it’s aggravating. We have to go figure out how to be more mature at the plate from one through nine (in the lineup).”
Herrington threw a complete game, and allowed one run off six hits, struck out 11 batters while giving up two walks.
“(I threw) a little bit everything,” Herrington said. “It depended on the batter. We mixed up pitches a lot.
“The more the game goes on, the more the pressure is on because they have a lot of chances to score as we do. I just have to stay in control, and I have to grow up a little more as the game goes on.”
Herrington believes the difference between her team this year and last year is the bond the group shares.
“I love this team so much,” Herrington said. “I am so confident about them. It’s the best I have ever felt about a team. I have full confidence in their hitting and fielding. We all have each other’s backs.
“(The difference compared to last year) I think is the bond. We are really close friends. We want it for each other almost as much as we want it for ourselves.”
