CHRISTIAN ROYSTON | JEFFERSON HERALD Freshman Alaina Heard walks back into the dugout while pitching against Denison-Schleswig on July 1 at the Jefferson Softball Park.

Greene County fights until the end against PCM

By CHRISTIAN ROYSTON croyston@iowainformation.com

Against a team as good as PCM, going seven innings is an accomplishment, and that was the case for the Greene County softball team, as it fell in the first round of the regional tournament 10-2 to the Mustangs this past Thursday.

The Rams were on a losing streak going into the matchup, most recently falling to a ranked St. Edmond team on July 3. After over a week off, Greene County was tasked with a tough test, taking on PCM on its home field.

Despite losing by eight runs, the Rams hung with the Mustangs throughout, keeping up on offense and on the mound. The only issue was Greene County’s ability to make the most of the opportunities it had.

PCM scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning, which put the Rams in a big hole early on. They did answer back with a run in the top of the second inning, but two more runs by the Mustangs built their lead even more.

With one final run by Greene County in the third inning, PCM cruised to a win by scoring five more runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

The Rams kept up in hits, trailing by two, but it was the extra-base hits that made the difference. All of Greene County’s hits were singles, while PCM batted three doubles on the day. The Mustangs also had twice as many RBIs as the Rams.

Freshman Alaina Heard had a solid day all around. She pitched the entire game for Greene County, striking out six batters while giving up just three earned runs on six hits. Heard also got hits on two of her three at-bats, while adding an RBI on the day.

With Heard being only a freshman, her competitiveness in the first round of the regional tournament is a good sign going forward. She can only get better from here.

Another freshman also had a great day. Sara Morlan finished the day with two hits and a run scored. She also stole a base.

In fact, all of the hits by the Rams came from the bats of freshmen, as Makenna Ebersole also got a hit. Freshman Bellah Johnson also had an RBI with a sacrifice bunt and a walk.

Greene County is as young as it gets, with nearly all of its starters being freshmen and sophomores. The experience gained from battling hard against a team as strong as PCM will be handy for the coming seasons.

For now, the Rams ended their season with a 4-20 record, while PCM looked to roll through the tournament and make it to states.

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