South Pemiscot SB building toward historic spring

A South Pemiscot High School baserunner slides into third base safely in a game earlier this spring against Senath-Hornersville in Kennett.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

The Holcomb High School softball squad has 22 of its 24 games this spring, so the Hornets are a daunting challenge for the other six programs in the upcoming MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 Tournament. That includes South Pemiscot, however, following a recent 4-3 loss to Holcomb, the Bulldogs do have some confidence that an upset of the top seed is possible.

“We needed that,” third-year South Pemiscot coach Lance Crawford said of the narrow loss.

Crawford added the Hornets as a late addition to his team’s schedule, not because he thought his team would absolutely knock off the tough Hornets, but because he wanted to challenge and prepare his team for this week’s postseason tournament.

“Did I want to play Holcomb," Crawford pondered, "Not really, because if we make it to the District championship, that is probably who we will be playing. But we needed to play somebody (following a cancellation by another team), and we needed to play somebody good.”

Earlier this spring, the Bulldogs fell 18-3 to Holcomb, and Crawford's kids managed just three hits that day. In the latest outing, South Pemiscot (11-13) got just four hits, but the pitching of senior Abigail Edwards kept the Bulldogs in the game.

“She’s a workhorse,” Crawford said of Edwards.

Edwards limited Holcomb to just two earned runs and she only walked a couple of hitters while striking out four batters.

Offensively, South Pemiscot got a couple of hits and an RBI out of freshman Ma’Leah Duckworth while Edwards (one hit, one run, one walk), junior Gracyn Trammel (one RBI), junior Ta’Kylah Wooden (one walk), and sophomore Jayleigh Leathers (one run, two walks) also contributed.

A boost to the Bulldogs in the second half of this season has been the play and production of sophomore shortstop Phoenix Simmons, who missed a few games in the middle of the season with an injury.

“Phoenix knows softball,” Crawford said. “She has played a lot growing up, and she hits the ball.”

Edwards solid on mound, plate in South Pem split

Tom Davis

The South Pemiscot High School softball squad saw its three-game win streak halted on Monday in a 17-8 loss to Caruthersville in Steele. However, that defeat didn't diminish how strong of play that senior Abigail Edwards exhibited on the mound and at the plate in a pair of games that day.

Against Holcomb, Simmons lined a home run shot just foul, before driving a pitch later off the fence. She allied a double and scored a run in that game.

“Phoenix and Abigail are both at (just) three strikeouts this season,” Crawford said. “That is something that I have been pressing with (the girls).”

The Bulldogs will visit East Prairie (10-13-1) today and Caruthersville (9-14) on Wednesday, with both games at 4:30 p.m.

South Pemiscot opens the postseason against Campbell (3-11) on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at Holcomb High School.

The next Bulldog victory will be No. 12, which will set a high mark for the program for at least 13 seasons, if not more.

“I’ve just spent time (working) with them,” Crawford said of building the Bulldog program to this point. “How we are getting better is that we are playing more. I try to maximize the contests. Even if we are losing, I try to get the girls on the field.

“Defensively, we’re not where I want us to be. But, offensively, as this season has gone on, we are putting the ball in play a lot more.”