LUMBERTON — The Lumberton and Scotland softball teams played a sloppy, error-filled game on Friday night, but both squads had opportunities to walk away with a win.

It was the Lady Pirates who eventually found a way, claiming a 6-5 victory in eight innings, beating the Scots for the first time since 2007.

“The sign of a good team is finding ways to win when you’re not playing well,” Lumberton coach Mackie Register said. “We didn’t play well on defense, and we didn’t hit it well at times, but we never gave up.”

Scotland (6-5, 1-3 SEC) entered the bottom of the eighth inning nursing a 5-4 lead, but a pair of errors in the final frame turned into two runs for the Lady Pirates (6-5, 1-3), including the game-winner with two outs.

“I loved the effort that we put forth,” Scotland coach Patrick Williams said. “I can accept a loss with that type of effort. We just have to clean some things up and play error-free. The team that makes the least amount of mistakes is going to win the game.”

In the eighth, Jasmine McBride hit a grounder and reached on an error, plating Morgan Britt for the walk-off winner. The first baseman was unable to squeeze the throw for the final out of the inning. Kailey Prevatte scored the tying run earlier in the frame on an error in left field off the bat of Britt.

Prevatte finished with three hits, collecting a pair of RBIs to lead the Lady Pirates. She hit a two-run triple in the sixth inning to tie the game at 4-4. She also scored two runs.

“Kailey is a big-time player,” Register said. “She steps up in the big moments. We got timely hits when we needed them and ran the bases well. We kept putting ourselves in a position to stay in the game and win it.”

Britt picked up the win in the pitcher’s circle, allowing one earned run over eight innings. Sarah McCall was tagged with the loss after 7 2/3 innings of work, striking out seven batters and giving up three earned runs.

Ashlyn Dial paced the Scots at the plate, logging a 4-for-5 performance with two runs and an RBI. She gave Scotland a 5-4 lead in the eighth, crossing the plate on a wild pitch.

Scotland matched its biggest lead of the game in the sixth inning after an RBI single by Macie Giloson extended the lead to 4-2. But the Pirates answered in the bottom half of the inning when Prevatte lifted a ball to right field for a two-run triple.

Debra Kyle added two hits for the Scots, who left nine runners on base. The Scots struck first, scoring a pair of runs in the second inning, highlighted with an RBI single by Dial. The Pirates tied the game at 2-all in the bottom of the second on a pair of passed balls.

It’s the fourth win in a row for Lumberton and the third straight loss for the Scots.

“That’s a big win,” Register said. “It puts us back in the thick of things in the conference.”

The Lady Pirates travel to Fairmont today for a 4 p.m. first pitch.

The Scots host Richmond on Tuesday.

Rodd Baxley | The Robesonian Scotland’s Ashlyn Dial finished with a game-best four hits against Lumberton on Friday night. She scored two runs and collected an RBI.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_Dial.jpgRodd Baxley | The Robesonian Scotland’s Ashlyn Dial finished with a game-best four hits against Lumberton on Friday night. She scored two runs and collected an RBI.

By Rodd Baxley

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Rodd Baxley can be reached at 910-416-5182. Follow him on Twitter @RoddBaxley.