CHOCOWINITY — It took just three innings for Southside to level its record at 7-7. The Lady Seahawks cruised to a 15-0 win over Kinston on Monday evening. The Lady Vikings, still searching for their first win late in the season, showed improvement from their last meeting with Southside early in the campaign, but it wasn’t enough to make a game out of it.

Nevertheless, the home side didn’t take Kinston lightly. Pitcher Alyssa McLawhorn kept the visitors’ offense off balance, collecting five strikeouts over three frames — including striking out all three batters she faced in the third. She also fanned the leadoff batter in the second before inducing a pair of groundouts.

“She’s doing really good,” coach Milton Ruffin said. “I’m really proud of Alyssa. She’s working really hard in practice. She wants to get better every time she comes to practice.”

Kinston, on the other hand, had a lackluster showing on defense. The Lady Seahawks took advantage of poor pitching to draw walks and move around the bases on passed balls.

“It’s all about baserunning,” Ruffin said. “You’ve got to make the other team make a play. I give them the signal to run and some of them don’t need the signal. They know the game and they know how to steal. I thought that was very important to get around the bases.”

Southside first struck in the first inning. With no outs, Hannah Paramore batted in Symone Ruffin for the game’s first run. Paramore later came across on a passed ball, giving her side a 2-0 advantage in the first inning.

Kinston went three up, three down in the top of the second. The Lady Seahawks extended their lead to 9-0 thanks to half a dozen walks, an error and a couple of deep hits in gaps. McLawhorn put her stamp on the game offensively with a two-RBI shot to centerfield. It pushed across Kimmy Ange and Danielle Ruffin for two of the frame’s seven runs.

The game-winning hit came off Ange’s bat in the next inning. With Alexis Preece and Gloria Valdez having moved into scoring position thank to their aggression on the bases, Ange pushed them across by belting the ball to centerfield. It gave Southside the 15-run advantage it needed to force an early conclusion.

“I talked to them about being focused,” Ruffin said. “Take the hand your dealt, you’ve got to go out there and not make many errors and play good fundamental softball. The results show.”

Southside has now won two in a row heading into Wednesday’s trip to Columbia. The plan is to continue building momentum before wrapping up the season against three tough conference opponents in Pamlico County, East Carteret and Northside.