After five innings of play it looked like Washington was going to put a dent in D.H. Conley’s perfect Coastal Conference record, but the Vikings were able to use a five-run sixth inning to push past the Pam Pack 6-2 on Monday to keep that record unblemished.

“(D.H. Conley) is the cream of the crop,” Washington coach Doug Whitehead said. “We played well early. We had some opportunities to score but we had some poor base running in the very early innings … We had a lead for the majority of the game, but we have had two games in a row where the wheels have fell of the wagon in one inning.”

The Pam Pack (5-7, 4-2) rallied for two runs in the bottom of the second when Justyce McKisskick drew a walk and was brought home on a Morgan Bryant RBI double.

Washington took the lead on its next at-bat as Sydney Gurkin blasted Alecia Gurkins pitch up the middle and got caught in a run down that allowed Bryant to score from third base to put the Pack up 2-1.

Washington failed to score the rest of the game as D.H. Conley (9-2, 6-0) removed Gurkins after 3 1/3 innings in favor of star pitcher Sarah Christian who has signed on to play for East Carolina University.

Christian would throw 3 2-3 innings of hitless ball and struck out four batters to get the win. Washington’s Brandi Hardison allowed nine hits in seven innings and earned the loss.

The two teams stayed locked at 2-1 until the top of the sixth inning when the Vikings took advantage of some Washington miscues with some timely hits.

Shannen Adams led off the inning by reaching base on a Pack error. Sarah Langley would join her on base after legging out a bunt. Both players would cross home plate after No. 3 hitter Brittany Owens blasted a two-run double and would go on to score the Vikings’ fourth run of the game.

Another Washington error allowed Katirina Hudson to take first base, and after a Courtney Gould single, Conley would score its fifth run on a fielder’s choice grounder. The Vikings recorded their final run of the game on a Lauren Porter sac fly.

The inning was a harsh one for the Pam Pack, who up to that point had played solid defense.

“We did an outstanding job on defense early on but they put pressure on us to make plays. They are a good fundamentally sound team when it comes to bunting and placing the bunt,” Whitehead said.

Batting against the Vikings backup pitcher, Washington had a prime opportunity to score runs in the first inning but poor base running killed any hopes of a rally.

With one out Shakeria Lomax drew a walk and stole second base. McKissick followed up with a double, but both players wound up getting out after being caught in a rundown on a ball hit by Bryant for an inning-ending double play.

“We played well other than two bad innings,” Whitehead said.

Washington won’t have long to dwell on the loss as the team will be back in action at home today against White Oak.

D.H. Conley 010 005 0 č 6 9 0

Washington 002 000 0 č 2 3 2

WP: Sarah Christian; LP: Brandi Hardison

Hitting: DHC č Brittany Owens 3-4 (2 RBI), Katarina Hudson (2-4 (3B, 2 R), Courtney Gould 1-4 (R)< Lauren Porter 2-3. ; W č Justyce McKissick 1-3 (2B), Morgan Bryant 1-3 (2B, RBI), Sydney Gurkin 1-2.