Softball: Panthers rely on defense, pitching in win over East Jackson

The Jackson County softball team is still waiting for its bats to come around, but the other two phases of the Panthers’ game seemed to be just fine Tuesday night.

Behind a solid showing from its defense and a strong outing from starting pitcher Peyton Sorrells, Jackson County beat rival East Jackson 1-0 at home. Click here for photos.

The Panthers played errorless softball for seven innings while Sorrells threw a complete game shutout as Jackson County moved to 6-8 overall and 2-2 in region play.

Coach Chessie Laird said the defense is “coming along.”

“Like I’ve said before, our defense is great,” Laird said. “I’d take our defense against anyone else’s defense any day … Our defense has done really well with the exception of a few errors here and there, but today was much better as far as just doing the little things that we need to to do.”

Meanwhile, Sorrells gave up five hits and three walks while striking out six in the victory, outdualing the Eagles’ Jessie Marvin.

“She did a great job locating her pitches and staying mentally tough and mentally focused when she had a few three-ball counts, really working hard to put it in where it’s either hittable or get the strikeout,” Laird said.

Jackson County scored its only run in the first inning when Madi Pecht drove home Alyssa Dasher, who led off the inning with a single.

Jackson County put runners in scoring position in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings but left those runners stranded.

“We’re doing a great job of playing small ball and doing whatever we have to do to get players on (base) and over, but we’ve really got to get them in,” Laird said.

The Panthers face another rivalry game Thursday when they take on Jefferson on the road at 5:55 p.m.

•Jackson County finishes 2-2 in tourney: The Panthers split four games this past weekend in the two-day Buccaneer Bash Tournament. Jackson County lost to Harrison 5-4 Friday to open the tournament and beat North Forsyth 10-7 later that evening. On Saturday, the Panthers beat Sonoraville 9-3 and lost to Hillgrove 3-0.

Offensive highlights included Alyssa Dasher going 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI against Harrison; Shelton Kendrix going 2-for-4 against North Forsyth with a home run and three RBIs; and Madi Pecht going 3-for-4 with three runs and three steals against Sonoraville.