The Marshall County Tigerettes found out they still have to iron out a few wrinkles before the start of the 2013 softball campaign, as they posted an 0-4 record at the Shelbyville Play Day on Saturday afternoon at Musgrave Park.

After losing 9-3 to Class A State tournament hopeful Richland in their opening game of the day, the Tigerettes dropped a 5-3 decision to county rival Forrest.

Independence then defeated Marshall County 5-3, before MCHS suffered a 4-3 setback at the hands of Shelbyville in their final game of the afternoon.

"I thought we did some things well, but we also found some things we need to work on," said Tigerette coach Holly Cook. "That's the purpose of a play day. Today was all about learning, not the wins and losses."

MC vs. Richland

In their opening game, the Tigerettes appeared to be in good shape early on against Richland after pushing across three runs in the top of the second inning to seize a 3-0 lead.

Following a leadoff single by Mecia Reed, Lady Raider starting hurler Ashton Edwards unsuccessfully tried to throw out Reed at second base on a sacrifice bunt by Katie Crabtree. After both runners moved up 60 feet on a Mary Kate McGehee sacrifice bunt, MCHS sophomore pitcher Jacey Perryman smacked a two-run triple down the right field line before coming home on a RBI single by Morgan Moyers.

Marshall County's defense would let Perryman down in the bottom of the second, however, as Richland crossed home plate four times in the frame on the strength of three Tigerette errors, a Shannon Higgins single, and a three-run double by Merrianne Patterson to pull ahead 4-3.

The Tigerettes then left the bases loaded in the top of the third before the Lady Raiders stretched their lead to 9-3 in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a Taylor Parker RBI single, a two-run single by Ashton Edwards, and a Tabitha Scott two-run double.

After Marshall County stranded runners on first and second in the top of the fifth, the game was called in the bottom half of the frame due to time constraints.

The Tigerettes finished with eight hits and three walks against Edwards and Richland reliever Ashton Henderson, but left 10 runners on base in the contest.

"I think (Edwards) is one of the best pitchers in the state. We did a good job of getting people on and getting them in early, but we still left too many runners on base," said Cook.

Reed went 3-for-3 with a run scored to lead Marshall County at the plate, while Moyers and Ashton Watkins each notched two hits. Perryman's triple accounted for MCHS' lone extra base hit of the game.

Perryman went the distance in the circle against the Lady Raiders' potent lineup and yielded nine runs, five earned, over four and one-third innings on nine hits and a walk.

MC vs. Independence

Following their game against Forrest, the Tigerettes took on the Independence Lady Eagles in their third game of the day.

The Lady Eagles flew out to an early 2-0 lead by crossing home plate twice in the bottom of the first inning with the help of an infield single by Dallas Richards, a Jessica Twaddle double, and a two-run single by Bay-Lee Lampley.

In the second inning, Independence tallied three more runs on the strength of singles from Lexi Aguilar and Hannah Moeller, a wild pitch, a Shea Herrick sacrifice fly, a RBI double by Richards, and a Twaddle RBI single to forge a 5-0 advantage.

Marshall County plated a run in the top of the fourth inning when Emily Martin drove in Anderson with a RBI fielder's choice to cut the deficit to 5-1 after MCHS loaded the bases on an Anderson single and a pair of walks by Watkins and Crabtree.

The Tigerettes then cut the deficit to 5-3 with one out in the fifth inning thanks to a hit batsmen, a double by Whaley, and a two-run single by Alexander, but Lady Eagle relief pitcher Makinzie Mitchell retired the next two Marshall County batters on a strikeout and a groundout to secure Independence's 5-3 win.

MCHS registered five hits and five walks against Mitchell and Lady Eagle starting hurler Taylor Johnson.

Anderson and Whaley each had two hits to lead the Tigerettes offensively, while Perryman added a double.

Perryman started the game in the circle for Marshall County and allowed five runs over two innings on seven hits and no walks. Grace Medley came on in relief of Perryman and yielded two walks in two scoreless innings of work while recording four strikeouts.

MC vs. Shelbyville

In their final game of the day, the Tigerettes grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Shelbyville when Madison Thomason scored on a RBI double by Whaley after reaching base on a one-out single.

The Eaglettes then crossed home plate twice in the bottom of the third with the help of two walks, a MCHS error, and a two-run single by Bailey Deason to seize a 2-1 advantage.

After Shelbyville stretched their lead to 3-1 in the fourth inning on a RBI single by Baylee Cook, Marshall county pushed across two runs in the top of the fifth thanks to a hit batsman, a Medley walk, a single by Moyers, a RBI bloop single by Whaley, and a Madison Hargrove RBI groundout to tie the game at 3-3.

With the time limit fast approaching, the Eaglettes pulled out the 4-3 victory by plating a run in the bottom of the fifth. Following a leadoff double by Morgan Ward, the Tigerettes tagged out Ward when she got caught in a rundown between second and third on a Deason fielder's choice. Deason then advanced to third on a single by Alli Odeneal before racing home on a Chelbie Gannon sacrifice fly to break the stalemate.

Marshall County recorded seven hits and four walks against Shelbyville starting pitcher Jamie Johnson.

Whaley and Thomason went 2-for-2 with a walk and 2 RBI to lead the Tigerettes at the plate, while Thomason, Anderson, Reed, Crabtree, and Moyers each had one hit.

Perryman once again got the start in the circle for MCHS and yielded two unearned runs in three innings of work on four hits and three walks.

Medley then came on in relief of Perryman and suffered the loss in the circle after allowing two runs over one and two-third innings on three hits and a walk.