The pessimistic part of Porters Chapel’s fan base might look at Tuesday’s 6-2 loss to Riverfield and see the nine errors, base running mistakes and mental lapses, and say the fast-pitch softball program is in for a major rebuilding job.

The optimistic part would realize it was one of the Lady Eagles’ better outings this season and hope it carries over to next year.

Riverfield (8-7, 2-4 District 4-AA) scored three runs in the third inning and three more in the fourth – all of them unearned – to beat PCA on Tuesday at Bazinsky Park. Riverfield pitcher Taylor Condrey faced the minimum in all but two innings, allowing four hits while striking out six.

PCA’s Kori Miller went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and an RBI.

&#8220It’s the same thing we’ve been working on. We make the tougher plays and miss the easy ones,” PCA coach Amanda Yocum said. &#8220They get better with more experience and more playing time.”

The loss wrapped up an 0-8 regular season for PCA, which had only three starters returning from a squad that finished third in the MPSA Class A state tournament in 2005. Barring a Cinderella run, PCA will finish its season at the Class AA South State tournament on Sept. 20.

Transfers and graduation decimated PCA’s roster, and coach Chris Etheridge resigned a few weeks before the 2006 season began. Yocum came on board a week before practice began and started with only the three returning players – senior catcher Ashley Johnson, senior third baseman Erica Bland and sophomore pitcher Kori Miller.

Miller, however, missed most of the season, putting the Lady Eagles even further behind.

&#8220I knew it was going to be harder (than 2005), but I didn’t know it was going to be like this,” Johnson said. &#8220At our first practice we had three players and didn’t even know if we were going to have a team.”

Yocum recruited a few basketball players to play softball, and a few transfers from the defunct Campus Prep helped fill out the roster. Few of them, if any, had played fast-pitch before, forcing Yocum and the returning players to use the first few weeks of practice as on-the-job training.

&#8220We were back to basic fundamentals for the first two or three weeks solid, and then the last few weeks we’ve been able to teach them the game of fast-pitch. How to hit, how to run the bases, what to do on a dropped third strike,” Yocum said.

Gradually, the Lady Eagles showed improvement. Despite going winless, Yocum said the team has gotten better both in the field and at the plate. She pointed to Tuesday’s hitting performance as proof – not the four hits PCA did get, but rather the 18 balls it put in play.

&#8220Our hitting has done well. As first-year players, just making contact is a major accomplishment and most of our players have made contact,” Yocum said. &#8220This past week our infield and outfield have come around. They’ve made major strides from the first day.”

Riverside 9, St. Al 8.

Riverside scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, including a three-run walk-off home run to beat the Lady Flashes.

St. Al led 6-1 early in the game and held an 8-5 lead going into the bottom of the seventh before Riverside’s outburst.

The Lady Flashes left 15 runners on base and left the bases loaded four times.

SIA 5, Humphreys 4.

Sharkey-Issaquena Academy ended the season Tuesday with a win over Humphreys, their fifth win in the last six games. The Lady Feds end the year 7-11.

Ashley Cooper had three singles and a scored a run, while Nicole Stevens went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Jennifer Heigle earned the win on the mound.

SIA won one game last season, but first-year coach John Weaver led the Lady Feds’ resurgence.