In the final week of softball’s regular season, Piedmont was to host Weaver yesterday then travel to Ranburne Thursday for one game and to Roanoke Friday for a doubleheader against Handley.

The Class 3A, Area 10 tournament will be Tuesday and Wednesday of next week with three teams – Glencoe, Pleasant Valley and White Plains – still in the running to host.

“We’re going to focus more on doing a lot of group work on defense,” Piedmont coach Matt Deerman said of his plans for the limited amount of practice time that will be available to the Bulldogs before the area tournament.

There will be lots of ground balls, lots of fly balls and much work on situational plays.

Deerman noted that the Bulldogs have struggled to score against Area 10 opponents with five runs the most they have scored in area play.

“We’re going to have to play solid defense,” he said.

Monday night at Wellborn, the Bulldogs lost 5-4. Piedmont led 4-3 until the Panthers scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Kayla Allen allowed three earned runs in six innings. She struck out four batters and gave up eight hits.

“She pitched well enough to win. We just didn’t make plays when we had to,” Deerman said.

Piedmont took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Catie Hightower singled and eventually scored on a passed ball.

With Wellborn ahead 3-1 after two innings, Brea Dixon singled in the third and later scored on an error.

The Bulldogs recaptured the lead with two runs in the fifth. Hilarie Hincy walked and Sara Beth Minton smashed an RBI double. Morgan Blackerby’s base hit drove in the second run.

On the second day of play in the Piedmont spring break tournament April 13, Pleasant Valley eliminated Piedmont 4-0.

Minton and Tracy Freeman had Piedmont’s only hits, a single each. Allen surrendered five hits and two earned runs in six innings.