PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — The No. 7 Pearl River softball team kicked off the Visit Panama City Beach JUCO Softball Showdown in explosive fashion, belting five homeruns with 27 hits to defeat Coastal Alabama 8-2 and Andrew College 11-0.

"I am so proud of what our offense is able to do — coach (Katelyn) Gruich does a fantastic job with them," head coach Christie Meeks said. "It's an advantage not only for our pitchers to work behind that offense, but to also get to face them on a daily basis as well."

GAME ONE
Pearl River (5-1 overall) got things started quickly. Kai Goodman (New Orleans, La.; John Curtis) led off the ballgame with a double, followed by an Addy Grace Alexander (Poplarville) single. Goodman later came around to score on a Shania Fondren (Batesville; South Panola) sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. The early scoring continued as Maeli Ben (Conehatta; Newton County) hit a hard ground ball to short that was misplayed and allowed Natalie Eaves (Louisville; Choctaw Central) to score.

Ana-Grace Garcia (Baton Rouge, La.; St. Joseph's) stepped into the circle in the bottom of the first and worked around a two-out walk to send the offense back to the plate. Anastasia Acree (Mobile, Ala.; Alma Bryant) wasted no time, as she belted the first pitch she saw over the wall in center field to extend the lead to 3-0. Eaves pushed the score out further by driving in Goodman with a single.

After a quick 1-2-3 inning from Garcia, Fondren took the first pitch of the third inning and deposited it deep over the left-field wall to make it 5-0. After a quiet top of the fourth, the Coyotes cut into the deficit, 5-1, with a solo homer. Alexander led off the following inning with a single and came around to score after Eaves ripped a two-run shot to extend the lead to 7-1.

The Coyotes were held scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, and neither team mustered any offense in the sixth. Eaves scored on an error in the top of the seventh to push the lead to 8-1. Despite a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, Garcia finished off the game for the Wildcats in an 8-2 victory.

Alexander set the pace in game one, going 3-for-3 and scoring twice.

"What our slappers have been able to do to start this season has been incredible," Meeks said. "AG has been very attentive and craves more information daily. It's also impressive because, being a dual-sport athlete and missing the whole fall season, you wouldn't know it by her mentality."

Goodman, Eaves, Ben and Acree all had two hits. Eaves led the team with three RBIs.

Garcia tossed seven innings, allowing two runs on three hits. She struck out six.

"I was so proud of what I saw from her today," Meeks said. "This is the first game this year that Coastal Alabama hasn't scored six or more runs. She was really able to keep them off balance."

GAME TWO
Ann Elise Duncan (McComb; Brookhaven Academy) got the start in game two against Andrew College and wasted no time, striking out the side in the top of the first to send the offense to the plate. After Goodman singled and stole second and third, Alexander smacked a ball to the center fielder to score her and make it 1-0. Fondren doubled with two outs, then came around to score on a Ben single to center.

Jaycee Holifield (Laurel; Stringer Attendance Center) joined in on the early game two offense by mashing a two-run shot, scoring Ben and blowing things open, 4-0.

Duncan again set down the Fighting Tigers in order to get the offense back to work in the second. Zion Seals (Shannon; Nettleton) reached on an error, then swiped second and third and scored shortly after on a Goodman single to make it 5-0. Goodman promptly stole second, then Alexander bunted her over to third to allow Eaves to drive her in with a single, extending the lead to 6-0.

Duncan continued to dominate in the third by striking out the side to run her total to seven through three innings. Ben led off the third with a single, then advanced to second on a Holifield double. Both runners then scored after Emmaleigh Theriot (Prairieville, La.; St. Amant) hit a hard grounder to second that was misplayed to continue the onslaught, 8-0.

Duncan helped her own cause by singling shortly after and then scoring on a Goodman triple to make it 9-0. Alexander continued her hot hitting by driving in Goodman to extend the lead to 10-0. Fondren plated the final run of the day with a solo shot in the fifth to make it 11-0, and Duncan completed her incredible afternoon with a three-up, three-down fifth to secure the win and the no-hitter.

Goodman set the table at the top of the order, collecting three hits and scoring three times. She also added two RBIs.

Fondren, Ben and Holifield added two hits each. Alexander, Holifield and Theriot all had two RBIs.

Duncan was sensational, tossing all five innings, allowing no hits and striking out nine batters. She was one hit-by-pitch away from throwing a perfect game.

"AE is a dog and competes no matter what the scenario or who she faces. That's just who she is," Meeks said. "Her rise ball was phenomenal today, and she was able to get a lot of swings and misses and also get them to chase."

UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to action Saturday at 9:30 a.m. against Chattanooga State and 3 p.m. against Wallace State.

For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics)