Monday's SIRR softball; First loss for Lady Panthers

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A nine-run lead-and undefeated season-evaporated over the last three innings for Pinckneyville Community High School's softball team Monday afternoon.

The Lady Panthers (14-1, 3-1) suffered their first setback with a 11-9 road loss to Sparta.

Pinckneyville hosts Chester Tuesday. Sparta moved into a tie for the SIRR lead with the win and is 10-2 overall.

PCHS led 9-0 to start the fourth inning before the Lady Bulldogs exploded for six runs. In the sixth, Sparta plated four runs to seal its victory.

Mo Ramsey, Taylor Cicardi, Sarah Malanowski and Emily Miller all had two-hit days for the Lady Panthers. Miller and Malanowski knocked in two runs with Emily Chapman rapping a two-run triple.

"This was just not a very good defensive and pitching effort by our team today," Lady Panthers coach Greg Hale said. "We had enough offense to win but failed to execute in the field. This must change if we want to advance in the post season."