After Monday’s game was washed out, the PCM softball team opened its week of games with a road trip to fellow Jasper County foe Lynnville-Sully. Class 1A’s sixth-ranked Hawks proved to be too much for the Mustangs to handle, as PCM fell by a count of 11-4.

Lynnville-Sully got things started at the plate with four runs scored in the bottom of the first. PCM responded in the second with two runs of their own, punctuated by a solo home run by freshman Joslin Briles, the first of her varsity career.

“I kind of felt it, but I wasn’t sure. I knew it was going far, but not that far. But it felt pretty great, just knocked it out of there. And then we were super hyped right after, and we had a fun game.”

Lynnville-Sully added another run in the second to take a 5-2 advantage, but the fourth inning is where the Hawks did the most damage. Three defensive miscues by PCM allowed Lynnville-Sully to score five runs with two outs in the frame. An insurance run by the Hawks increased the lead to 11-2, and a brief Mustang rally was stopped short to conclude the game. Head Coach Shaun Hudnut says the main difference in the game was the inability to close out innings, and that playing against a prestigious program is helping better his program in the long run.

“The biggest number for us is we gave up six runs with two outs. And that’s been our Achilles Heel in the first week and a half of the season, is we have good defensive innings, but we can’t quite make that defensive play. We know our girls can do it, now it’s just a matter of starting to accomplish it and be able to believe in ourselves to get that done. If we get out of that second big inning Lynnville-Sully had there, it’s a much closer game than what it looks like on the board. Kudos to Lynnville-Sully, they’re a great team. That’s one thing we talked about as a program when we took over last year, is we want to go out and challenge good teams, that’s how we make ourselves better.”

Riley DeVore led the way at the plate with two base hits. Belle Hudnut doubled in the contest as well. DeVore pitched the complete game, giving up nine hits and two walks while striking out four batters.

PCM drops to 1-4 on the season, and will return to conference play this evening, hosting Greene County at 7:00 p.m. The Mustang baseball team will also host Greene County, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:30 in Prairie City.