No doubt the Person Rockets had to be thinking about Friday’s big Piedmont Athletic Conference matchup against Riverside, but they didn’t fall victim to looking ahead as they blanked the Northern Durham Knights, 5-0, in softball action Tuesday at the Person High School Field.

The PAC-6 has now officially become a two-team race as the victory left the Rockets (11-4 overall) tied with the Pirates for first place at 9-1 in the conference, and set the stage for Friday’s 7 p.m. tilt on the Pirates’ home turf — a game that will not only determine sole possession of first, but the likely conference champion as well.

Person head coach Mike Shotwell doesn’t expect to see the same Riverside team that was beaten handily by his Rockets, 8-1, back in March (Riverside’s lone league loss). In that game, Brittany Shotwell struck out 18 Pirate hitters and carried a no-hitter into the final inning.

“They’re a really good team and I know they’re better than what they showed the first time we played them,” he said. “But I think we can beat them again. It should be a great game.”

After defeating second-place East Chapel Hill last Friday and laying to rest any hopes the Wildcats may have had for a conference crown, the Rockets collected two runs in both the second and third innings and a single tally in the fifth to give them all the production they’d need against Northern on Tuesday.

Brittany Shotwell, now 9-2 on the season, allowed just four hits and fanned 16 Northern hitters in the victory. The Knights did get runners in scoring position a few times but couldn’t get anything across against the Rocket ace.

“I think at times today Brittany threw as hard as I’ve seen her throw,” observed Coach Shotwell, who credited the teamwork between his ace and catcher Erica Reaves. “She and Erica did a great job of keeping their hitters off balance by mixing up the pitches.”

Person also played well defensively by not committing an error in the game, and continued its aggressive ways on the basepaths.

“We put some hits together and we ran the bases well again,” said Coach Shotwell. “We made the plays we’re supposed to and we hit the ball hard. It was another good win for us.”

On offense, the Rockets took advantage of five Northern errors and socked eight hits to break through against Knight starter Katy Lloyd, who went the distance in a losing cause.

Sara Wrenn, who’s been on fire since being inserted into the starting lineup several games ago, went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI. She was hitting an even .500 entering Tuesday’s game.

“Sara’s’ really taken advantage of the opportunity to play,” Coach Shotwell commented. “She has a hot bat right now and she’s having fun.”

Three Northern errors helped lead to two Rocket runs in the bottom of the second. Chelsea Wrenn, Tracey Vaughan, and Melissa Harris all reached on miscues. The first run scored on an error, and Sara Wrenn drove the second one home with a single up the middle.

A dropped fly ball off the bat of Brittany Shotwell scored the first run of the third inning, and Vaughan’s RBI single brought in the other for a 4-0 lead.

Fifth-inning singles by Shotwell and Chelsea Wrenn led to Person’s fifth and final run.

Along with Sara Wrenn’s multiple-hit effort, Reaves had two hits and scored a run for Person.

Carrie Albert suffered a bit of hard luck on Tuesday as she twice lined hard into double plays.

“She hit the ball hard but came up with nothing to show for it,” said Coach Shotwell.

On the Northern side, Kia Robinson had two hits and Sarah Blanton cracked a long double for the Knights, who fell to 5-11 overall (4-6 in the conference).

Person also defeated the Knights by a 9-3 score back on March 20.