Person head softball coach Mike Shotwell said he was not worried but was concerned after seeing his Rockets fall behind 4-1 in the early innings to the Southern Durham Spartans Tuesday evening at the Person High School Field.

Having defeated Southern by 14 runs earlier in the year, the Rockets had nothing to worry about as it turned out. They gathered themselves and took care of business in a 14-4 Piedmont Athletic Conference victory, ending the contest by plating three runs in the bottom of the fifth to bring the 10-run rule into play.

Person, now 9-4 overall and 7-1 in the PAC-6, was tied with Riverside for first place in the conference entering Tuesday’s game.

“Another ugly game but a win,” said Rocket head coach Mike Shotwell, whose team has won seven of its last eight games. “There weren’t many good pitches to hit today, but we took the walks and that made the difference.”

True to Shotwell’s comments, Southern pitching was more than generous, forking over 14 walks in the game. Person definitely took advantage of the opportunities to score their 14 runs on just seven hits.

Sophomore pitcher Jordan Rhew started for the Rockets and struggled through her two innings of work, walking four and having difficulty with her control.

The visitors scored three times in the first frame without the benefit of a hit, receiving the aid of two walks, and several passed balls and wild pitches.

Southern added another run in the second before Brittany Shotwell took over the pitching chores for Person in the third. She kept the Spartans scoreless the rest of the way to earn her seventh win of the season.

At the same time, the Rockets were putting together a comeback after trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the second inning.

Shotwell drove in the second run with a sacrifice fly, followed by a steal of home by Erica Reaves to make it 4-3 after two.

In the Person third, Sara Wrenn, who had three hits on the day, tripled home Carrie Albert and Kaylyn Newsome’s sacrifice fly scored Jeanne Gentry to put the Rockets ahead to stay at 6-4.

Eight more runs would come across for the home team over the next two innings.

It seemed only fitting that the game-ending run in the bottom of the fifth scored on a bases-loaded walk, as Sarah Ashley drew the free pass to end the contest.

Along with Wrenn’s multiple-hit effort, Reaves, Shotwell, Tracey Vaughan, and Jennifer Bowen had the other Rocket hits in the victory.

Coach Shotwell praised the effort of battery mates Shotwell and Reaves and complimented Wrenn’s offensive performance.

“Brittany and Erica came in and did a great job shutting them down,” he said. “And Sara really hit the ball well.”

The team’s next contest on Friday at East Chapel Hill is shaping up as a crucial conference match-up. The Wildcats handed the Rockets their only league loss thus far, a 5-3 setback back in March. ECH was in second place at 5-2 as of Tuesday.