The PMS Softball Scots are currently on an extended road trip and played four games in a week’s time, posting a solid 3-1 record.
First up, on April 24, the Scots took down Oakland’s Claremont Middle School 13-3 in a game that highlighted their strong 6th grade class. Cate Penrod set the tone in the first two innings from the circle, holding the Claremont Knights hitless while striking out 5. The offense came alive as the game moved on, and we saw key contributions from Olive Dao-Hoang, who skillfully earned 4 walks, and Gigi Weber, who swung a big bat going 3-3 with 2 RBIs on sharply hit double.
Next came the lone loss of the week on April 27, where Oakland’s Montera Middle School ultimately prevailed 4-3 in a tense and tightly contested affair. Piedmont spared nothing and brought their 8th grade aces back out, getting stellar performances from both Bailey Gregovich (0 ER, 1H, 6K over 2 innings) and Madi Farboud (2 ER, 4H, 4K over 3 innings). In the end the Scots fell to the rival Montera Toros due to a few miscues on defense and an inability to scratch out the key hit when they had runners in scoring position. Sixth grader Keira Spina showed poise in the field at third and delivered one of Piedmont’s two hits. Keep an eye out for the rematch this Friday, May.
The third game, played on April 29, saw the Scots leverage their experience and depth to easily handle an overmatched Oakland Lazear Charter Academy team, 14-3. Mackenzie Ewen kept the opponent from pouncing early with 2 hitless innings and 6Ks. While the Scots patient approach at the plate yielded quite a few walks, they took advantage of the few strikes they saw to generate the offense against the Lazear Wildcats, with 7th grader Evie Joerger driving in 3 runs and 8th graders Abby Gregovich and Simone Tornatore each raking in a pair of RBIs on well-struck doubles.
The final contest of the week, on May 1, was a bit anticlimactic as Oakland’s Edna Brewer Middle School Panthers were short several players and were forced to forfeit. The teams nevertheless faced off in a congenial scrimmage that provided a low-stress way to focus on the fundamentals of defense and base running.
The Scots continue their road trip this week with matches on May 4 against Berkeley’s King Middle School, May 5 against Berkeley’s Longfellow Middle School, May 6 against West Oakland Middle School, and the highly anticipated rematch on May 8 against Montera Middle School.