Person sophomore Jordan Rhew was making her first-ever varsity start and the Halifax Comets took advantage by jumping on her for five runs in the first inning on their way to an 11-4 victory over the Rockets Wednesday afternoon in softball action at the Person High School Field.

The contest began a stretch of three games in three days for the Rockets, who lost to South Granville on Thursday.

To her credit, Rhew, who got the nod in place of injured ace Brittany Shotwell, settled down and allowed just two runs over the next five frames, which kept the home team in the game until the Comets put it away with four seventh-inning tallies.

“I think Jordan did very well after that first inning,” said Rocket head coach Mike Shotwell, whose team hadn’t seen game action in almost two weeks going into Wednesday’s contest. “They’ve got a very good hitting team. It didn’t matter who was pitching for us today, I knew they were going to get their hits.”

Trailing 6-0 in the top of the third, Person benefited defensively when right fielder Sarah Ashley prevented another Halifax run by making a tough sliding catch down the line to end a threat.

As a result, the Rockets fed off the momentum of the play and got back in the game by putting up four runs in their half of the inning.

Erica Reaves led off with a double and Rhew followed with a single up the middle. Reaves scored on an errant throw to second base, and Meghan Lay drove in Rhew with a double to center.

Lay came in on another throwing error, and Chelsea Wrenn’s RBI single made it a 6-4 game.

That’s as close as it would get.

Halifax’s Stephanie Clark came on in relief of starter and eventual winner Paige Rickman, and quieted the Rockets by giving up just one hit and fanning six over the final three innings.

“We didn’t roll over. We came back with those four runs and started hitting a little bit,” said Shotwell. “We took advantage of every mistake they made. They just didn’t make enough of them.”

All told, the Comets collected 16 hits. Lashunda Davis went-2-for-5 and scored three times. Clark also had three hits and an RBI, and Rickman helped her own cause with a solo homer over the center field fence in the third and a two-run double in the opening frame.

Lauren Daniel also had a 3-for-4 day with a run scored.

For the Rockets, Rhew and Wrenn both had two hits and Carrie Albert stroked a single as well.

Rhew struck out three and walked just two in her seven-inning stint.

Though not at her accustomed position as pitcher on Wednesday, Brittany Shotwell, who has a broken finger on her pitching hand, did play first base for the Rockets, who fell to 1-1 with loss. It was the season-opener for Halifax.

S. Granville 8, Person 4

CREEDMOOR — It was more of the same for the Rockets on Thursday at South Granville, as the Vikings scored six times in the first two innings to take an early 6-2 lead.

Person committed six errors in the game. Only three of the eight runs scored against Rocket starter Jordan Rhew were earned.

Rhew took the loss (her second in two days), allowing six hits and striking out three through four innings. Jennifer Bowen pitched the next two innings in relief and kept SG off the board.

But Bowen experienced a close call in the sixth inning when a line drive off the bat of Chelsea Luck hit her in the face. The out was made on the play to end the frame.

According to Coach Shotwell, Bowen was later taken to Person Memorial Hospital and had no broken bones.

“She will have a sore left side of her face though,” he said.

The Rockets got off to a promising start in the first inning when Brittany Shotwell went deep for a two-run homer with Rhew on base.

It didn’t take the Vikings long to respond, though, as the Rockets committed two errors that led to three runs. Luck had an RBI hit for the fourth tally of the inning and a 4-2 lead, which was increased to 6-2 the following inning on Brittany Evans’ run-scoring double and a stolen base that led to another score.

SG added two more runs in the fourth, while the Rockets tacked on two in the top half of the sixth for the final margin.

Rhew was 2-for-3 and scored a run, and Shotwell was 2-for-3 as well. Meghan Lay had a double and an RBI, Melissa Harris doubled, and Chelsea Wrenn had a two-bagger and an RBI.

Kanisha Fogg had four hits in four trips to the plate and scored three runs for South Granville, which improved to 3-0 on the season. Jamie Hockaday was the winning pitcher with six strikeouts and three walks.

The Rockets, who dropped to 1-2 with the loss, were out-hit 9-7 in the game, but the errors were costly.

“It was really a good game but we made too many mistakes,” said Coach Shotwell.

Rocket softball team walks all over Spartans, 17-3, in PAC-6 opener

DURHAM — In a game where eight Person runs scored by way of passed balls and wild pitches, the Rocket softball team came away with a 17-3 road victory over the Southern Durham Spartans Friday afternoon.

The game was ended after five innings due to the 10-run mercy rule.

It was the Piedmont Athletic Conference opener for Person, which improved 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the PAC-6. The win also ended a modest two-game losing streak.

In all, the Rockets took advantage of Southern’s generosity, as they had just seven hits but drew a ton of walks — 14 to be exact.

Of the team’s seven hits, Erica Reaves went-2-for-4 and scored four times, while Jordan Rhew, who earned her first pitching victory, had a memorable 3-for-3 game with a triple and a double. She scored three runs, drove in three, and walked twice.

Casey Raymer (1-for-2, RBI) and Meghan Lay (1-for-3, run scored) also contributed offensively.

Some potential good news also came about on Friday when Brittany Shotwell, who was diagnosed with a broken finger on her pitching hand earlier this week, had a short stint on the mound.

She faced four batters and fanned two of them.

“We just wanted to see what she could do,” said a cautious Person head coach Mike Shotwell.

Person resumes action on Tuesday with a conference home game against East Chapel Hill at 4 p.m.