Inside: Lady Tigers, Lady Hawks triumph in softball matches,

TEXARKANA, Texas — Pleasant Grove put up 12 runs in the second inning en route to a milestone 18-3, run-rule victory over Pittsburg in a District 15-4A softball game on Friday at Lady Hawk Field.

“I think we did a good job staying focused and staying on task,” Pleasant Grove head coach Becca Collom said. “We did good being aggressive and adjusting.

“Sometimes a slower pitcher can throw players off, and I thought we did a good job of being patient. We are working on our mental game more and more each day. The girls did good in staying even keel in there (batter’s box).”

Lexie Snyder earned the win in the circle for the Lady Hawks (8-62, 2-1), tossed five innings, gave up three runs on four hits, struck out eight and walked one. None of Snyder’s runs were earned.

“I think Lexie did a great job in mixing speeds and locations on the plate,” Collom said. “She kept them off balance.”

Harleigh O’Neal led off the second with a single and teammate Presley Humphrey singled through the hole at short to put two on with no outs. MJ Williams reached on a fielder’s choice, and O’Neal was tagged out running for third.

Timia Cooks walked to juice the bases for the Hawks. Izzy Hackleman slapped a 2-run single to give Pleasant Grove a 2-0 lead. Snyder reached base on an error by the center fielder and a run scored.

Adi Koller doubled up the middle as two more PG runs scored. Natalie Nickolson laced in a 1-run double down the left-field line to pad the Hawks’ lead, 6-0. Zoe Smith walked, and Nickolson and Smith each moved up a bag on a passed ball.

O’Neal had an RBI single, and Humphrey, in her second at-bat of the frame, popped in a 2-run single to left center to give Pleasant Grove a 9-0 edge.

Williams had a single up the middle and Cooks walked to load the bases with two outs in the second frame. Humphrey Williams each scored on a throwing error to make it 11-0. Cooks plated a run after a Lady Pirate passed ball to pad the lead, 12-0.

Pittsburg scored a run on Kylie Fitch’s RBI single in the third for its first run of the game.

Smith tripled down the leftfield line to lead off the third for Pleasant Grove. Dakaria Moreland came in to run for Smith, the catcher. Some batters later, Cooks ripped a 2-run triple to score O’Neal and Williams, who had doubled.

Koller blooped in an RBI single to short right center, and two more Hawk runs scored on an error after Koller’s single. PG scored six runs in the third to take an 18-1 lead into the fourth.

Neither team scored in the fourth inning, and the Pirates scrapped together a pair of runs in the fifth on a pair of hits and two Hawk errors.

Pleasant Grove totaled 14 hits, while Pittsburg had four. The Pirates had more errors in the field, 6-3.