By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

CARRIERE — Pearl River Central clinched the top softball seed in Region 4-6A Tuesday.
The Lady Blue Devils popped Picayune 10-0 Tuesday in just five innings to move to 8-1 in league play and 17-6-1 overall. PRC swept second place and defending region Hancock two weeks ago, and the win over the Lady Tide wrapped up the number one slot for head coach Tony LaBella’s squad as the Class 6A South State playoffs are on the horizon next week.

Alexa Vaughan collected a game-high four hits to pace the game-winning 12-hit PRC attack at the plate, and she drove in two runs, while Bayli Cucinello posted a game-high five RBIs on two hits also. Addison Davis had two hits, including a double, and she drove in three runs and Hartlee Everett also chipped in two hits to the victorious effort.

While Davis didn’t go deep in this one, the sophomore standout has earned a reputation as one of the top power hitters in the state with 14 home runs on the season so far. She cracked two homers and drove in six runs in a 16-4 win over Gautier last week, and followed that up with a trio of round-trippers and a career-high seven RBIs in a 12-5 win over Poplarville.

Cucinello continued her impressive season-long work in the circle, tossing a one-hit shutout with six strike outs to earn the win.
Kadie Rushing took the loss for Picayune, as the Lady Tide fell to 9-16 overall and 6-3 in the region race.
Picayune has clinched the third seed for playoff purposes.
The two teams face off again Thursday night in Picayune as the regular season winds down.