MONTGOMERY – The Pike Liberal Arts Patriots lost to the Autauga Academy Generals in a close game during the second day of the AISA State Tournament held at Lagoon Park Saturday.

The Patriots won their first game of the day against the Monroe Academy Volunteers 3-0.

“We’ve played them a lot, and we knew what to expect,” said Lady Patriots head coach Allie Park. “We played a lot tighter. We played better. We were more loose, relaxed and focused. What matters most is that we came out with a win.”

Bailey Rushing pitched the first six innings, while Sam Yarbrough finished out the game in the last inning.

After the shut-out against the Volunteers, the Patriots advanced to play the Generals. They played a close came throughout, holding strong through the fourth inning coming in at 2-0. The Generals made their first score in the fifth inning, where two runners scored, one after a called interference, allowing a runner to advance from third base, quickly tying the game.

The Patriots continued to push, scoring once more in the sixth inning, only for the Generals to tie the game back up at 3-3.

The last inning of the game brought no scores for the Patiots, and the Generals took advantage of that to sacrifice a bunt to advance their players around the bases. With one runner on first and another on third, their last player batted a single, gaining the last score of the game, ending the season for the Patriots at 4-3.