The third-seeded South Central Lady Cougars were upset by sixth-seeded Neoga, 3-0, on Monday in the quarterfinals of the National Trail Conference Softball Tournament. The game featured a rare loss for a team despite a no-hitter tossed by their pitcher, with the winning team putting nine runners on base via walks or hit by pitches. South Central looked to be off to a strong start seeing the ball in the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff single by Annie Ruholl but a double play erased the base runner with two outs. Then Maddie Peddicord tripled to put a runner in scoring position before a ground out stranded her on base to end the first inning with no score. After a scoreless second inning, Neoga was able to get on the scoreboard for a 1-0 lead. That score held as both teams were able to get a runner or two on base over the next couple innings but neither were able to score until Neoga broke through again in the sixth inning. After two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases, a wild pitch allowed one run to come in and in the same at bat, a groundout brought another run in as Neoga took a 3-0 lead. Trailing by three in the bottom of the sixth, A. Ruholl again got a leadoff single but was stranded after a lineout, a pop out and a ground out. Both teams would go three up and three down in the seventh inning as Neoga held their 3-0 lead to hand South Central the loss. The Lady Cougars drop into the consolation side of the bracket where they will face seventh-seeded Altamont at 6:15pm on Wednesday at Evergreen Park in Effingham.
South Central Pitching:
Maddie Peddicord – 7 IP, 3 R, 0 H, 5 BB, 10 K
South Central Offense:
Annie Ruholl – 2-3
Maddie Peddicord – 1-3
Emily Rose – 1-2
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