The high school baseball and softball seasons began last night for the Greene County teams with a pair of Heart of Iowa Activities Conference one-run losses on the road to the PCM Mustangs. The softball final in Monroe was 7-6, and the baseball final in Prairie City was 1-0.

The softball was heard on KG98 and streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com. PCM scored in the first inning for a 1-0 lead, which held up until the fourth when the Rams tied the game, 1-1. Greene County scored five runs in the fifth for a 6-1 lead, but the Mustangs put six on the board in the sixth. The game ended with Greene County runners at first and second bases.

Junior Megan Durbin hit a three-run line drive home run over the left field fence for the Rams, and she also added an infield single. Hannah Promes and Jenna Beyers also singled twice, and Tieryn Tucker and Samantha Hardaway each added a base hit. Durbin drove in four runs on the night. Promes and Beyers split the pitching duties with Promes taking the loss.

PCM had eight seniors in its lineup and one of them, Kayla Jennings, fanned 15 Rams en route to the pitching victory. She walked three and allowed eight hits. The Mustangs had two errors and the Rams one.

In baseball, PCM scored an unearned run in the second inning and that was enough. Greene County had singles from junior Ben Wilkins and sophomore Austin Delp, and those were the only hits for the Rams. PCM had three hits off Delp, who was the tough luck losing pitcher. The right hander struck out nine batters, walked three and hit one with a pitch.

The Rams had a runner as far as third base just once, while two others were stranded on second. The Rams had three errors to just one for the Mustangs.