Dave Maxwell:
Morgan Harris hauls in a pop fly at shortstop in Pahranagat Valley’s 10-8 loss to Lincoln County. The Panthers host Indian Springs this Friday. Lincoln faces Lake Mead in Panaca.

April 23 was a competitive game in Alamo between longtime in-county softball rivals Lincoln County and Pahranagat Valley High School (PVHS), their only meeting of the season.

As reported by Gamechanger.com, despite a six-run deficit in the fifth inning the Lady Panthers made a real show of it, nearly coming all the way back before eventually falling 10-8 to the Lady Lynx.

This snapped the eight-game win streak for PVHS.

Lincoln put four runs across the plate in the first inning as they touched pitcher Mariah Zander with a single, an RBI double, two batters hit by a pitch, an outfield error, a walk and two steals of home plate. Macie Howard, Ava Pearson, Kendra Mathews and Laura Pearson all scored runs for Lincoln in the inning.

The 4-0 lead held until the third inning when Pahranagat Valley mounted a three-run rally to cut the score to 4-3. Morgan Harris started it off with an RBI single, an RBI double by Jessica Brede and Harris stealing home plate.

Then Lincoln managed two runs in the fourth inning on a two-run double by Laura Pearson. They added three more runs in the fifth inning to extend their lead to 9-3. With two outs, the Lynx’ Ava Pearson lined a single to left field, scoring two runs, and an infield error allowed Pearson to later score.

It remained a competitive game as the Lady Panthers rallied with five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rebecca Taylor, Emily Hansen and Kaitlyn Higbee all had RBIs that inning including Hansen’s two-run double.

Lincoln put an insurance run on the board in the seventh inning and PVHS threatened to tie the score but left two runners on base on the final out.

Sadie Soderborg took the win for Lincoln County. She allowed eight runs on eight hits, struck out four and walked one.

Zander went the distance for the Lady Panthers on the mound. She allowed 10 runs on seven hits, struck out six and walked six.

Harris was 2-for-4 at the plate for Pahranagat Valley. Ava Pearson was 3-for-5 for Lincoln.

The Panthers (14-2, 2-0) have a league doubleheader with Indian Springs (8-10, 2-0) in Alamo this Friday and a non-league game at Lake Mead April 30.

The 1A South playoffs are May 9-11 at Indian Springs.