Picayune did exactly what Coach Kristi Mitchell preached they had to do in order to win game two against Neshoba Central Friday afternoon, but Picayune committed unfortunate errors that led to the team’s downfall as the Lady Rockets won its fifth consecutive State Championship.
“The girls knew that the game came down to who committed the most errors, and today that unfortunately was us,” Mitchell said. “This group cannot hang their heads though because they accomplished a lot this season and are champions in every way.”
Game two took a different approach than the game before, with both teams finding base hits. However, a deja vu moment happened for Neshoba Central as Aspen Wesley hit a solo home run in the second inning to take an early lead.
Then, a crucial pop fly drop from Picayune’s Marissa Mcdonald resulted in an RBI double for Makenzie Barnett to bring the score to 2-0 in the third inning.
Later in the same inning, a wild pitch swiftly crossed the face of the Picayune dugout and because it hit Mitchell’s foot in live ball territory, the Lady Rocket base runner at third base was allowed to make it home for Neshoba Central’s third run of the game.
To help her team get back in the game, Alyssa Pinero pounded a double to the centerfield fence in the fourth to later be driven home by Megan Dudenhefer’s RBI single to give Picayune its first run of game two in the State Championship.
Neshoba Central followed with two more runs to increase the team’s lead 5-1.
In a final attempt to get back into the game, McDonald singled for an RBI to bring the score to 5-2, but unfortunately it was not enough to get past the defending champions as Picayune lost 6-2.
“These girls wouldn’t get to the State Championship if they weren’t special. When they were 8 and 10-years-old, they and their parents made a commitment to softball and that commitment showed this season,” Mitchell said. “When they came back against Long Beach in game three, they knew they could beat that team and they came into the State Championship with that same mentality, knowing they could beat Neshoba Central. But unfortunately we didn’t have any balls bounce our way.”
Pinero led the team with two hits, a single and double, McDonald also had two hits, both singles. Dudenhefer also had a single for an RBI.
Dudenhefer pitched a complete game, pounding five strikeouts, four walks and conceding eight hits.