Morgan, Pepperell enjoy perfect start to 2022
It was a perfect start to the season for the Pepperell Lady Dragons in more ways than one Thursday.
Junior pitcher Caroline Morgan tossed a perfect game in a 9-0 mercyrule shortened victory for Pepperell as it opened the regular season in strong fashion at Paulding County.
Morgan pitched five innings and didn’t allow a single baserunner while striking out 14 of the 15 batters she faced to earn the win.
The Lady Dragons scored one run in the first inning and one in the third to gain the early lead before putting the game completely out of reach with a seven-run top of the fifth.
Morgan also contributed in a big way offensively as she had a triple and two RBIs. Ansley Farmer added two hits, an RBI, two stolen bases and a run scored, while Morgan Willingham had a double, an RBI, two stolen bases and two runs scored. Cloey Mitchell drove in two runs and had a hit, and Riley Nelson rounded out the offensive leaders with a hit, an RBI and a run scored. Sam Jones also had a hit and scored a run.
Pepperell will try to carry over the momentum from the season-opening victory when it travels across the county to take on Model in a non-region contest Wednesday at 5 p.m.
In other softball action from Thursday:
Walker 17, Rome 16
In a back-and-forth offensive game, the Lady Wolves came up just short in their season opener Thursday afternoon.
Contributing strong days at the plate for Rome were Hailey Major, Jakayla Strickland, Laila King and Camdyn Ely. Ely also saw some time in the circle.
The Lady Wolves, who were back on the road Friday to take on Douglas County, will travel to Coosa for another non-region game Monday at 5:30 p.m.