PINETOWN — It was supposed to be a pitcher’s duel, but a battle between two of the area’s top hurlers turned into a slugfest as Southside powered past Four Rivers Conference and geographical rivals Northside 9-6 on Tuesday to bring itself within striking distance of the first-place Panthers.
“It was a good win,” Southside coach John Lohman said. “I knew if we could hit we stood a chance and that’s what he did tonight. We hit.”
Facing sophomore standout Kelsey Lang, the Seahawks tallied nine runs on 13 hits and took advantage of two Northside errors to edge past their rivals.
Lang would pitch all seven innings and strike out four in a losing effort, while her counterpart Savanna Mumford yielded six runs on 10 hits and fanned six to pick up the win.
The key for Southside was tremendous production from the top of its order as leadoff hitter Mumford went 2-4 with a double and two RBIs, while No. 2 hitter Morgan Harding was 2-4 with two RBIs. Together, they accounted for eight of the team’s nine runs.
“That’s huge for us. I moved Morgan up in the batting order because she had been making good contact and she is a threat to bunt,” Lohman said. “If Savannah gets on I know I can move her over, and if the defense bobbles it Morgan’s going to be safe because she can run too.”
Facing the three-time WDN Pitcher of the Year Mumford, the Panthers swung their bats well and were led at the plate by leadoff hitter Mackensi Swain, who went 2-2 with an RBI and scored twice. Kendall Alligood and Caroline Slade each added two hits and drove in a run.
Down 9-4 heading into the seventh, Northside battled back as Cheyenne Franks and Swain each had an RBI to cut the lead to 9-6 with two outs. The Panthers would go on to load the bases but Mumford was able to record the final out of the game to preserve the win.
“Any time you’re down that much in the seventh and can get it to where you have the bases loaded with your No. 4 hitter up that makes you feel like you have a team that doesn’t want to quit,” Northside coach Jack Beirne said. “We’ll have some games where we will be able to pull that off and some where we won’t. Unfortunately, tonight we couldn’t.”
The Seahawks scored a run in the first when Harding singled, then scored all the way from first on a stolen base attempt that was botched by the Panthers.
Northside responded in the home half as they tied it on a Britney Alligood sac fly and took the lead on a Slade RBI single.
Southside broke the game open in the second, rallying for six runs on six hits and a Panthers’ error. The Seahawks got their first three batters on base and took a 3-2 lead on a Danielle Clark single and a Sam Lore fielder’s choice RBI. Mumford would follow up with a two-run double and one batter later Sondra Sparks singled home a run to take a 6-2 advantage. The lead would grow to 7-2 as Northside mishandled a Marlin Edwards grounder that allowed Sparks to cross home.

Southside    162    000    0    —    9    13    2
Northside    200    101    2    —    6    10    2
WP: Savannah Mumford; LP: Kelsey Lang
Hitting: S — Savannah Mumford 2-4 (2 RBI, 2 R), Morgan Harding 2-4 (2 RBI, R), Sondra Sparks 1-4 (RBI), Tia Hardy 3-4, Valarie Hodges 1-4, Macy Paramore 2-3, Danielle Clark 2-4 (RBI); NS — Mackensi Swain 2-2 (RBI, 2 R), Taonya Stanley 3-5, Kendall Alligood 2-4 (RBI), Caroline Slade 2-3 (RBI), Cheyenne Franks 1-4 (2B, RBI).