Being on the winning end of a shutout is always a good thing. That is exactly where the Pike Liberal Arts Patriots ended up Thursday afternoon in their season opener in Prattville.

The Patriots (1-0) shut out the Panthers of Prattville Christian Academy 6-0 Thursday.

“The first win is always good to get,” PLAS head coach Butch Austin said. “We had excellent pitching today and we had no errors behind our pitchers in the field.”

Justin McLaughlin started on the mound for PLAS, going four innings and allowing two hits while striking out three. Will Starling relieved McLaughlin in the fifth inning, allowed one hit and struck out six for the win.

The Patriots scored three runs in the sixth inning and three in the seventh for the 6-0 final.

“We had some big hits late in the game, but we struggled in key situations early in the game,” Austin said.

PLAS compiled 11 hits on the afternoon, as every starter notched at least one hit.

Sam Carroll led the Patriots, going 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Bradley Floyd, Ross Hixon, Corey Goodson and Blake Thomas all had a double. Hixon added one run scored and Goodson had one RBI.

Alex Adams had one hit, one RBI and two runs scored. Trey Walters chipped in and RBI hit and one run scored. Logan Stewart had a hit and an RBI and McLaughlin had one hit.

The Patriots hit the road for a doubleheader against Dixie Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.

The Pike Liberal varsity softball team (0-1) lost to Prattville Christian, 2-1.

Shelby Broderway pitched a complete game and allowed no earned runs. She struck out seven in the complete game. She also had two doubles with one RBI.

The JV softball team (1-0) walked out of Prattville with a 5-1 victory.

The Lady Patriots varsity and JV teams host Hooper Academy March 2.