Lady Panthers beat Johnston City for regional title

JOHNSTON CITY -- Josie Gleason hit a pair of homers and Mariah Clark also went deep and pitched a gem as the Pinckneyville High School softball team rolled to a 6-0 win over Johnston City in the championship game of the Pinckneyville 2A Regional on Saturday at Greg Hale Field.
Gleason hit a two-run homer in the first inning and added a solo shot over the center-field fence in the third to give the Lady Panthers a 3-0 lead against JC freshman hurler Madison Weber.
"Josie had a big day for us," said Pinckneyville coach Alan Engelhardt. "It was big for her to hit the first to get us off to a start where we could just relax and play."
Clark, who was dealing a two-hitter in the circle, added a three-run shot in the fourth to make it 6-0.
"Mariah put a great swing on hers as well," Engelhardt said. "That created some real separation."
Taylor Witges also had two hits for the Lady Panthers, who are now 30-4.
Weber and Taylor Crompton had Johnston City's hits against Clark, who struck out 15 batters.
"Mariah was really good today," Engelhardt said. "Both her velocity and movement were exceptional."
Pinckneyville now advances to the Johnston City Sectional and faces another Black Diamond team in Fairfield in Tuesday's semifinal game at 4:30 p.m.
"Even though we only came out with five hits, I thought we had some good at-bats," Engelhardt said. "We need to continue to play relaxed because we are playing some good softball right now."
West Frankfort takes on either Du Quoin or Trico in Wednesday's semifinal. Du Quoin and Trico are playing for the Chester Regional championship on Monday after the game was postponed over the weekend.