PLYMOUTH — Southside survived a scare on Tuesday as it battled back from an early five-run deficit with some timely hitting and pitching to pull out an 11-5 victory over Plymouth in a Four Rivers Conference matchup.
Southside (6-1, 2-1) stumbled out of the gate and Plymouth (4-3, 0-3) pounced as it racked up three runs in the first inning and two in the second and held a 5-0 lead before the defending conference champs countered.
The game did a complete 180 in the top of the fourth as the Seahawks bats came alive and pitcher Savannah Mumford found her rhythm as Southside outscored the Vikings 11-0 and didn’t allow a hit over the final four frames.
After the game, Seahawks coach John Lohman said that he hopes his team’s sleepy start serves as a wakeup call for the remainder of the season.
“We haven’t been preparing for games properly,” Lohman said. “I’ve been telling them but I haven’t been harping on them because I wanted them to learn it on their own.
“… I want them to come out serious. I want Savannah to come out firing the ball hard right from the get-go and not waiting until she lets up a hit to decide to throw it five miles per hour faster. I want us focused when we’re fielding. We had two errors tonight. In this conference you can’t come out flat against anybody.”
In uncharacteristic fashion, Mumford began the game walking the first two batters and the Vikings took full advantage as Diamond Davis belted an RBI double before Kim McNair followed up with a two-run double.
Davis struck again in the second with her second double of the afternoon, this one driving in two runs to put the Vikes ahead 5-0.
“She’s a good athlete,” Plymouth coach Chris Kelly said of Davis. “She works real hard in practice and she has a never-give-up spirit.”
While Mumford was off to a slow start, she finished on fire as she fanned a total of 16 batters and did not let up a hit from the third inning on to get the win.
Mumford was also 4-5 at the plate and stole six bases.
Plymouth’s Megan Kelly pitched the first three innings, came off the hill for the fifth and returned for the sixth and seventh to get the loss.
Southside rallied for three runs in the top of the fourth and one in the fifth before it broke the game open with a devastating six-run rally in the sixth that saw them overcome the Vikings and take a 10-5 lead.
Southside’s Macy Paramore led the assault as she finished the game going 3-5 with four RBIs, while Valarie Hodges was 2-4 with three RBIs.

Southside    000    316    1    —    11    14    2
Plymouth    320    000    0    —    5    4    2
WP: Savannah Mumford: LP: Megan Kelly
Hitting: S — Savannah Mumford 4-5 (2 R), Macy 3-5 (4 RBI. 1 R), Tia Hardy 2-4, Morgan Harding 1-4, Valarie Hodges 2-4 (3 RBI), Danielle Clark 2-4; P — Megan Kelly 1-2, Diamond Davis 2-3 (2B, 3 RBI), Kim McNair 1-3 (2B, RBI).