RIDGELAND – A gut-wrenching 4-2 loss in a Saturday morning winner’s bracket game of the Mississippi Private School Association’s Class-A Fast-Pitch Softball Tournament took the life right out of Porters Chapel Academy.

The Lady Eagles had little left for defending state champion Franklin Academy in an elimination game to determine who would play Deer Creek School in the finals. The Lady Cougars completed the bad day for PCA, eliminating the Lady Eagles from the 8-team state tournament here at Freedom Ridge Park with an 8-2 decision.

The losses conclude PCA’s season at 26-12. Franklin (31-6) needed to beat Deer Creek (24-7) twice in order to repeat as champs.

First-year PCA coach Chris Etheridge said his team, which won the MPSA North State A title last week, could not get over the mid-morning loss to Deer Creek quickly enough.

“To get beat like we did, it’s hard to come back for that next one,” Etheridge said. “The game with Deer Creek was nip-and-tuck, like I thought it would be. But some close calls went against us. A lot of times, mistakes by a player or coach can cause a loss, but I really think the umpire made a mistake that cost us.”

The critical play came in the sixth inning with PCA and Deer Creek tied up at 2. Deer Creek’s Madison Simpson belted a ball into left field off PCA starter Lauren Johnson. Meredith Schilling, who was on first, came all away around and scored to make it 3-2.

Etheridge thought Schilling had left too soon. But an appeal was denied.

“All year, the point of emphasis has been on not allowing runners to leave early, but he was not watching,” Etheridge said of the base umpire. “I argue the call and it’s my assistant who gets thrown out.”

Simpson, who went to third after the throw home, scored on the next at bat off a PCA throwing error.

With a 4-2 lead, Deer Creek’s Lauren Irby sat PCA down in order to end the game after the sixth inning. The time limit had already expired.

PCA held a 1-0 lead after four innings. Bailey Williams knocked in Kelli Ouzts with a RBI hit in the second. Deer Creek rallied for two in the fifth to take a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, PCA had the bases-loaded with no outs but got only one run.

“We only get one run because of a base-running mistake. That’s just part of the game,” Etheridge said.

“We didn’t hit the ball,” said Andi Hearn who got a hit and scored in the fifth to tie the game.

Against Franklin, PCA fell behind 2-0 behind Kasey Guimbellot’s two-run single in the top of the first. Ouzts knocked in Kori Miller for PCA’s first run but Franklin answered with two more in the third to go up 4-1.

Johnson scored the final run of her great prep career for PCA in the bottom of the third following a grounder by Ouzts that made it 4-2.

Lindsey Walley came up with RBI hits in the fourth and sixth to extend Franklin’s lead to 8-2. She ended 3-for-4 to lead Franklin who had 10 hits.

PCA was limited to seven hits, paced by two from Hearn.