SOFTBALL: Lady Panthers handle Elverado
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[In the final tune-up before both teams start Regional play on Wednesday, Pinckneyville hosted Elverado for softball on Monday and built a 9-0 lead after two innings on their way to a 12-3 victory.
Shersty Stanton continued her recent success at the plate, driving in four runs and hitting her third home run in the past four games for PCHS. Stanton finished 2-for-3 and also scored a pair of runs.
Maddy Keith led off the game with a single for the Lady Panthers, then Mo Ramsey walked and Emily Chapman singled to load the bases for Stanton. The Pinckneyville catcher drove in two with her base hit before scoring on Taylor Cicardi's double.
Cicardi scored when Taylor Kuhnert reached on an error, and PCHS led 5-0 after one.
More damage would come in the second for Elverado and starting pitcher Corrine Wilson, as Pinckneyville piled on four more runs, all coming with two outs in the inning, and two coming with the help of defensive errors.
Kelsi Teague drove in Alicen Khoo-Torres in the third for the Lady Falcons' first run, then Abby Grammer scored after doubling in the fifth. Chelsea Cochran singled to lead off the Elverado sixth, then scored on a two-out single by Lacey Qualls, but Pinckneyville had built an 11-3 lead at that point in the contest.
"I really wish we could've given them a getter game," said EHS head softball coach Donette Wheatley. "The errors absolutely killed us, it wasn't a good pre-cursor to the regionals."
The Lady Falcons connected for four hits off of Pinckneyville pitchers, one each from Cochran (1-2, BB, R), Qualls (1-3, RBI), Grammer (1-3, 2B, R) and Khoo-Torres (1-2, SAC, R).
The Lady Panthers had six batters record hits: Cicardi (3-3, 2 2B, 4 R, RBI), Stanton (2-3, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI), Keith (2-3, R), Ramsey (1-1, 2 BB, 2 R), Chapman (1-3, R) and Melia Bathon (1-1, 2B).
Wilson (3-11) took the loss for EHS, going the first five innings before yielding to Teague. Chapman (10-5) was the winner for Pinckneyville, going three innings and allowing one run on one hit and four walks. Chapman struck out four batters.
Sara Malanowski relieved Chapman in the fourth, pitching three frames and allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits while fanning four. Kayla Martin closed things out with a perfect seventh inning for the Lady Panthers.
With the regular season now complete, number two Pinckneyville (21-10) will meet third seed Du Quoin in Waltonville on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in round one of the IHSA Class 2A Waltonville Regional.
Second-seeded Elverado (6-15) travels to Steeleville on Wednesday for their 1A Regional opener against number three seed Wolf Lake (Shawnee), also at 4:30 p.m.