Southside softball offense scoring in bunches ahead of CPC, Northside matchup

Published 2:05 am Sunday, March 16, 2025

By Jason O. Boyd

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CHOCOWINITY, N.C. — If scoring runs is any indication, Southside High School’s softball team seems primed and ready for Coastal Plains Conference play starting next week with Beaufort County rival Northside.

Southside topped Tuesday’s 17-2 win with an 18-0 victory on Thursday — both against Bertie High School. Take the 29 runs the Seahawks scored against North East Carolina Prep (9-8 win) and North Pitt (20-10 win) to start the season and you have a squad flying high in many ways going into Tuesday’s contest with Northside. The two teams also play in a rare back-to-back schedule next Thursday as part of CPC play.

“We’ve been putting the ball in play a lot, like getting it in the outfield, stealing bases when we get a chance,” said Amarillys Perez, who drove in two runs and scored a third in her team’s six-run first inning on Tuesday. “I feel like we’re really good at stealing bases when we get a chance and tracking the ball to make sure where it’s at so we can get an accurate hit on it and really just putting the ball in play a lot.”

Southside (4-1) got six runs in the bottom half of the first inning. They continued that success against an overmatched Falcons club, scoring seven in the second and four in the third before the game was called due to the 10-run mercy rule.

With Bertie leading 1-0, Lily McLean walked, stole second, went to third on a fielder’s choice then stole home for Southside to get a 1-1 tie. Another fielder’s choice allowed Dana Ransom, who was hit by a pitch, to score to give Southside the lead for good at 2-1.

Throw in Perez’s two-run single, a wild pitch for a run and an error for a run on a ball hit by McLean, who batted around, and the Seahawks were well in command.

Southside pitcher Carollna Crisp settled down after the first inning and gave up three hits with eight strikeouts and two walks for the win. After Bertie closed the gap to 6-2, Crisp helped her cause with a bases-loaded screamer down the left-field line on a 3-0 pitch for a double. McLean beat the throw home to push Southside’s lead to 12-1.

“Honestly, we work on not watching the ball and then not swinging at pitches we aren’t supposed to swing at,” Crisp said. “But even with a 3-0 count, if you get a ball right down the middle, you want to take it, honestly.

“You want everything you can get. We’re not looking for walks. So, yeah, that’s why I went out there swinging.”

Southside has just two seniors on the team, McLean and Ransom — who will both play college softball after graduation. Getting production from the others has been important to build trust and put the team in a situation where it can roll with the punches when needed.

So far, despite the winter weather, lost practices and scrimmages and basketball eating into the season, things have started off strong for the Seahawks.

“So we’re trying to use between what games we can play and what practice we can get to and trying to finalize,” Southside coach Kam Rouse said. “Even now, we’re still batting … this is my third different batting lineup. We’re still trying to find the right combination for when we get in conference play so we can be ready to roll.”

Perez said the team will be ready to face Northside next week.

“It can play out really good,” Perez said. “Win or lose against good teams, we still have fun playing because we’re playing as a team and when we play as a team, it’s really fun.

“There’s a lot of ups and downs in the team when we make mistakes, but at the end of the day, we still play as a team and we have fun as a team.”

Southside finished with nine hits, led by Crisp (2-for-3, 2 runs, 6 RBI) and Emily Mondragon (2-for-3, run, 2 RBI). The Seahawks also put a Bertie error and 14 walks to good use.

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