The Pike junior varsity Lady Patriots fell to Macon East 5-2 in the opening round of the JV State Tournament on Friday morning.

The Patriots will enter the loser’s bracket where they will play this morning beginning at 9 a.m. against a team still to be determined.

“We played really well,” said Patriots head coach Robert Rolland. “We just had a really rough first inning.”

The Patriots finished with five hits in the game; Morgan Bundy led the Patriots with two hits, while Dannah Dawson, Ansley Adams and Grace Rushing each had a triple.

Dawson got the start for the Bulldogs in the loss and pitched a complete game. She struck out nine batters, including four in the opening inning that ended with passed balls by the catcher.

“It was a good game,” Rolland said. “The girls played really hard. We just hurt ourselves when it came down to keeping the ball in front of us. It’s one of those things. You have to play perfect if you want to win a state tournament. We didn’t play a clean game, but it was a good game.”