POPLARVILLE – The visiting Lions of East Mississippi Community College were limited to just seven total hits and one run while dropping a road softball doubleheader, 4-1 and 4-0, at nationally 16th-ranked Pearl River during Friday’s MACCC action played in Poplarville.

The complete-game pitching efforts by PRCC’s Lizzie Meeks and Ana-Grace Garcia dominated the afternoon as the Lions struggled all day to get anything going offensively.

After opening the doubleheader with back-to-back singles from twins Karen and Gail Wisher, EMCC managed to get only two more hits the rest of the contest against Meeks. Along with stranding the two runners on base in the opening frame, the Lions left a runner at third in the second inning and had courtesy runner Kendel Thompson thrown out at home for the third out in the fourth frame after attempting to score on a pitch that got away from the catcher.

The Wildcats built an initial 3-0 lead in the opener with Peyton Hoffmayer’s two-run homer in the fourth inning and Caroline Lindsey’s sacrifice fly a frame later off EMCC starting pitcher Gail Wisher.

The Lions got on the scoreboard for the first and only time on the day in the sixth inning when Victoria Irby reached base on an infield error, stole second and advanced to third on an error before scoring on Sasha King’s groundout.

Karen Wisher later singled to lead off the third inning of the opening game and singled again to begin the nightcap on the way to finishing the afternoon 3-for-6 at the plate.

EMCC’s bats were pretty much silenced again throughout the second contest, as Garcia struck out 14 Lion batters and only allowed four baserunners during her dominant three-hit pitching performance. Other than Karen Wisher’s single to lead off the game, the Lions’ only other hits in the nightcap were King’s leadoff single in the second and a one-out double by Raylea Atkinson in the fifth.

Pearl River’s game two runs came during the middle innings off EMCC starting pitcher Sara Frances Ramsay. Doubles by Natalee Eaves and Cailey Pervel plated the Wildcats’ first run in the fourth frame, while Hoffmayer’s second home run of the day keyed their three-run fifth.

Bidding for one of 10 available spots in the upcoming softball postseason playoffs, head coach Mackenzie Byrd’s EMCC Lions (12-24, 8-16 MACCC) are scheduled to conclude their regular-season softball slate this week with home doubleheaders against Mississippi Delta on Wednesday and Southwest Mississippi on Saturday. Both upcoming EMCC home twinbills are set to begin at 2 p.m. on the Scooba campus.