CHOCOWINITY — After turning a double play in the top of the first, Southside wasted no time jumping on 1-A Coastal Plains Conference opponent Bear Grass in a 7-0 win on Tuesday. The Lady Seahawks have now won their first six games to start the season.

Maggie Craig drove Southside’s offensive effort. After Alyssa McLawhorn and Symone Ruffin notched back-to-back one-out hits to the left side, Craig brought them home with a two-RBI double to left centerfield.

Craig scored on a passed ball to cap off a three-run first inning. Southside went three up, three down in the second, but Craig helped add another three runs onto the board in the third frame. She doubled to left field to put herself and Jazmine Carawan in scoring position with two outs. Gracie Warren pushed them across with a two-RBI shot of her own to left field.

“That’s what hurt us last year. We had runners on base, but we couldn’t move them,” coach Milton Ruffin said of Southside’s struggles at the plate last season. “We want to be patient up there, but I want them to swing the bat. Maggie had a tremendous game. She was focused in, concentrating, and doing all the fundamental things. That’s why she ended up hitting the ball the way she did.”

Craig added, “I’m really relaxed batting. I know if I’m not, I’m tensed up, I’m not going to hit the ball. I need to be relaxed and confident. … I actually played travel ball with the pitcher. I know what she’s going to throw.”

With a 6-0 lead after three innings, Southside had a stranglehold on the game. McLawhorn pitched well, and despite a few miscommunications, the defense behind her was able to hold the Lady Bears off the board. She got herself out of a jam to strand a runner in scoring position in the fourth, and then struck out two in the fifth as she retired the visitors in order.

“A whole week we hadn’t played. I expected a lot of rust out there,” Ruffin said. “I’m really happy about our defense. I was telling them that we had a couple of mental blocks. You can’t make those on a really, really good team because it’s going to cost you the game.

“The defense is pretty stellar. I just worry about the communication during the game. The girls know the game. … They made some good, heads-up plays. Overall, it was just a good team win. Everybody was putting the bat on the ball. Pitching, catching, they all played good ball.”

Southside notched one more run in the bottom of the fifth. McLawhorn led off with a single to center, stole second and scored on Ruffin’s base hit to right field. The Lady Seahawks nearly scored another run when Craig reached on her third hit of the game, but she was thrown out at home.

After a long layoff prior to this game, Southside will take another break before traveling out to Jones Senior on Monday.