By Joshua Price/Sports Editor
Southside edged county foe Glencoe in softball action on Feb. 27, 4-1.
Panther centerfielder Paiden Kircus proved that defense wins games.
Kircus snagged a bases loaded, two-out flyball in the right-center gap in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings.
Southside sisters Kaleigh and Peyton Williams each laid bunts to begin the eighth inning. Each scored runs soon thereafter.
“I saw the opportunity to play some ‘small-ball’ in the eighth,” Southside head coach Angie Sanders said. “We have worked a lot on bunting recently. The Williams girls did a good job getting on base with the back-to-back bunts. Jordan [Sims] is a great pitcher and runners are hard to come by with her on the mound.”
Southside notched three runs in the final inning to seal the win.
The match was a defensive duel, with opposing pitchers surrendering only one run each in regulation.
Glencoe’s lone run came in the fourth inning when catcher Jamie McGuire blasted a homerun to centerfield.
Claire Graves pitched five innings for the Lady Panthers, striking out eight batters. Jordan Beasley closed the match for Southside to earn the win.
Sims pitched the entire game for the Yellow Jackets.
“I am proud of my girls for not quitting or giving up,” Sanders added. “This was our first ‘full’ game. All our previous games have been on timers.”
Southside improved its record to 3-3 with the win and will host Oxford on March 1.