By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

PEDRO — It was a pressure-type game and the Rock Hill Redwomen put the pressure on.

Rock Hill scored three runs in the first inning and kept the pressure on as they beat the South Point Lady Pointers 9-3 Thursday in a battle for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference.

“We scored first and got up on them. We knew we had to jump on them early and then we just continued,” said Rock Hill coach Mary Harper.

Sami Nixon got the win with a four-hitter as she struck out 12 and did not walk a batter.

Rock Hill is now 7-2 overall and 5-0 in the OVC. South Point fell to 10-2 and 4-1.

“We played well as a team. We had great pitching by Sami, we had great defense by everyone and we had some great hitting,” said Harper.

Rock Hill jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

Morgan Damron walked, Chelsea Harper singled, they moved up on a wild pitch and Courtney Duncan singled in a run.

Brooke Hanshaw grounded out as a run scored and Duncan came home on a wild pitch.

The Lady Pointers got a run back in the second when Kaitlyn Brown hit a home run.

South Point got within 3-2 in the top fourth when Ashley Goodall singled, Andrea Kleinman put down a sacrifice bunt, a passed ball moved the runner up and Rachel Murnahan’s RBI ground out.

But Rock Hill came right back with three runs in the bottom of the inning.

Morgan Schug and Dani Crabtree walked and Brooke Eastham hit into a fielder’s choice. Haylia Gannon was safe on a fielder’s choice and BreeAnna Depriest singled home a run. Damron followed with a two-run single.

The Redwomen added a run in the fifth when Nicole Stamper walked and Schug and Crabtree singled.

Rock Hill pushed across two insurance runs in the sixth. Depriest and Harper doubled for one run and then Duncan and Schug singled for the second run.

The Lady Pointers added a run in the seventh on a double by Kleinman along with a passed ball and Rock Hill’s only error.

Schug was 2-2, Depriest 2-2 and Duncan and Harper 2-4 as Rock Hill had 10 hits.

South Point 010 100 1 = 3 4 0

Rock Hill 300 312 x = 9 10 1

Kaitlyn Brown and Andrea Kleinman. Sami Nixon and Brooke Eastham. W-Nixon (K-12, BB-0). L-Brown (K-7,BB-5). 2B-South Point: Andrea Kleinman; Rock Hill: Breanna Depiest, Chelsea Harper. HR-South Point: Katelyn Brown. Hitting-South Point: Ashley Goodall 1-3, Andrea Kleinman 1-2, Kaitlyn Brown 1-3, Brianna Whaley 1-3; Rock Hill: Morgan Damron 1-3, Chelsea Harper 2-4, Courtney Duncan 2-4, Morgan Schug 2-3, Dani Crabtree 1-3, Brianna Depriest 2-2.