Purtlebaugh comes through in a pinch as South softball tops Owen Valley

Abby Purtlebaugh knows there are only a few ways she can help her softball team win games this season. So every opportunity the junior gets is a chance she can't and won't waste. Her first one came when Bloomington South coach Meg Montgomery sent her to the plate as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the seventh, one out and the tying run at second base.

She fouled off five of the first eight pitches. The ninth she lined to center, bringing Sloane Barrett home with the winning run in a 5-4 victory over Owen Valley in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday at South. "It's been really hard not being able to help my team at all," Purtlebaugh said.

"But that felt like a lot. I didn't feel pressure like most people on other teams would because they've been so supportive throughout this entire thing. "So getting the hit for them is great.

" The problem started last season. Purtlebaugh said the nerves and vessels in her arm get pinched, making her arm go numb. The fix has been elusive, and surgery is planned in the future.