Jackson wins pitcher's duel with Jones as Eagles beat Braves 1-0

Defense and pitching ruled the night at Dalton Field as the host South Putnam Eagles rode a great pitching performance from Jaicee Jackson and stellar defense to eke out a 1-0 victory over Indian Creek in Western Indiana Conference softball action.

Jackson allowed only one hit and struck out eight Braves in going the full seven innings for the shutout.

South’s defense was perfect in not committing an error all night in support of Jackson’s excellent night in the circle.

The win lifted the Eagles to 2-7 on the season, but more importantly 2-1 in the WIC. The Braves fell to 2-6 and 0-4 in the conference.

“This was a big win for us. This makes us 2-1 in the conference. We have a goal to be in the top three in the conference and we go to North Putnam tomorrow with a chance to get to 3-1,” South Putnam head coach Mark Hamilton said.

Jackson’s pitching performance was necessary because her counterpart, Delaney Jones, was almost as good.

The Brave freshman pitched six innings, only giving up one run on four hits and picking up nine strikeouts of her own.

The Eagles mounted the first threat in the bottom of the second as Alyssa Pingleton doubled but was stranded on third base.

The Eagles got the only run of the game in the third inning. Joscelyn Pilcher led off the inning with a single, Lilah Holderfield had a bunt single and Ariel Dooley loaded the bases with a walk. Pilcher would score on a wild pitch, but Jones would get out of the inning with minimal damage.

Over the next three innings, Jackson would rely on her defense. All three outfielders, Chlara Pistelli, Pilcher and Peyton Freeman made running catches in the outfield in support of the junior righthander. The Braves only hit in that stretch was a bunt single by Bailey Dowty.

“Jaicee really pitched well. Our defense was really good, especially the outfield. All three of them made plays,” Hamilton said.

The Eagles threatened to break the game open in the sixth inning as they put runners in scoring position but could not get the run home.

The Braves made it interesting in the final inning. They loaded the bases on walks and had their leading hitter up, but Jackson forced a ground ball to second and Danae Cline made a nice play to end the game.

The Eagles were led offensively by Pingleton with a pair of hits in the pitchers’ duel. The teams combined for only five hits but committed no defensive errors in the contest.

“Hopefully this helps us tough things out. This showed us we can win a close game,” Hamilton said.

Indian Creek 000 000 0 — 0 1 0

South Putnam 001 000 X — 1 3 0

WP — Jackson 7

LP — Jones 7

2B — Pingleton (SP)