The PHS softball team traveled 3.5 hours to Jonesboro, Arkansas to play in the Bearcat Blast Tournament. The Trojan’s first game was Friday, March 18 against Conway, AR at 9:30 p.m.. The ladies arrived hours early watching other teams that they may play later on in the tournament. As the girls were warming up, they became more nervous because this was their first game of the season. 

Senior Samantha Huck started on the mound by striking out the first three batters she faced. The Trojans were up to bat in the bottom of the first. Senior Chelbi Poucher was the first run brought in by an overpass by the opponent team and freshman Elaina Elder was the second run of the game with a score of 2-0. The game ended with the remaining score of 2-0 Trojans winning the game. The Trojans felt successful because their first game was a win. The girl’s next game wasn’t until the next day at 2:30 p.m. against Stuttgart, AR. The game was coming up quickly and the girls were tired and sore from the previous game.

In the second game,  Freshman Elaina Elder was on the mound pitching at the top of the first. The Stuttgart team was pressuring the Trojans with them scoring 2 in the first inning. The Trojans were struggling to make a comeback down 6-0 with 11 minutes upon the clock. The Lady Trojans unfortunately were defeated by Stuttgart’s team. With only 30 minutes until their next game, the Lady Trojans had to rush to get to their field on the other side of the complex. 

The Lady Trojans were playing Southside Batesville, AR, who had recently beaten their rivals from Kennett, MO. The Lady Trojans were up to bat first. Coach Mariah Coleman said, “ Let’s be the first to score and finish business.” The girls took this seriously because this was the game to win. By winning this game the ladies would take 3rd place in the red division. The Lady Trojans had a great start by junior Jade Williams hitting a gap shot scoring 3 runners in (RBI). The score was 3-0 in the first inning. It came down to the last inning of the game and the score was 6-2. Batesville was up to bat and the Trojans had to play defense and hold them. The Batesville team started to become more knowledgeable of Huck’s pitching which made it harder for the Trojans to seal the win. 

The last batter was up for Batesville with 2 outs in the inning. This was the Trojan’s last chance. As Huck threw the pitch the count was 0-2. All Huck had to do was strike her out. The batter struck out leaving the Trojans with the 3rd place trophy. The Trojans went home satisfied and took that momentum to a 17-1 victory against Arcadia Valley to open their MAAA season. The Trojan’s next game is Wednesday, March 23 at home against Kingston.