The Pinecrest softball team had to play catch-up from the get-go against Western Harnett on Monday night.

A pair of unearned runs put the Patriots behind 2-0 at the end of the top of the first inning against the visiting Eagles. They remained within striking distance until the Eagles scored five times in the top of the seventh, handing the Patriots an 11-3 non-conference defeat.

The Patriots, now 4-7-1, had won four of their previous five games. In Saturday's Mustang Classic at North Moore, they defeated Jordan-Matthews 7-4 in the morning before dropping a 7-6 decision to Harnett Central in the afternoon.

Coach Paul Goins squad will be seeking its fourth Mid-Southeastern Conference victory in a row when it entertains Douglas Byrd this evening at 6 p.m.

On a Monday night that got chillier by the minute, Abby Hinson led off the bottom of the first with a single to center. Two outs later, Olivia Cioccalanti bounced a double over the third base bag, driving home Lindsay Parkin who had reached base on a fielder's choice, making it 2-1.

The visitors tacked on a single run in the third and two more in the fourth off Patriot pitcher Keely Robinson. Eagle pitcher Kerstine Womack lined a Robinson pitch over the leftfield fence in the top of the fifth making it 6-1.

Going into the bottom of the sixth, the Patriots hadn't managed to get a base hit off of Womack since the first inning. But, after Parkin drew a lead-off walk, the Pats showed signs of solving the Eagle pitcher.

Cioccolanti and Felicia Wood were both retired on hard line drives, one stabbed by Womack and the other by the center fielder. Then Robinson lined a pitch on one hop off the fence in left-center for a run-scoring triple. She rode home on a single to right by Alexis Gibson, making it 6-3.

Womack retired Smith on a blooper to first to end the threat, and then led off the top of the seventh with a triple down the first base line. The next four batters also reached base as the Eagles (3-3) went on to put the contest out of reach for the home team.

Pinecrest needed a stirring comeback to get past Jordan-Matthews early Saturday. Trailing 4-2, the Patriots scored five times to grab the 7-4 victory. Hinson pitched the final six innings to gain credit for the win.

Later against Harnett Central, the Patriots scored four runs in the top of the seventh to take a 6-5 lead. But the Trojans scored twice in the bottom half to deny the Pats the sweep.

Earlier on Monday, the Pinecrest jayvee team improved to 4-2 with a 9-6 victory over Western Harnett.

R H E

Western Harnett 2 0 1 2 1 0 5 -- 11 12 0

Pinecrest 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 -- 3 6 2

Womack and Poulin; Robinson and Harrison. WP Womack LP Robinson. Leading hitters (W) Womble 3-4, TR, RBI, Womack 2-4, HR, TR, RBI, Thomas 1-4, DB, 3 RBI (P) Robinson 1-3, TR, RBI, Cioccalanti 1-3, DB, RBI, Gibson 1-2, RBI.