Right-hander Brooke Bates pitched a perfect game Thursday, leading the Bainbridge High School Lady Cats softball  team to a 12-0 victory over the Monroe High School Lady Tornadoes.

The win wrapped up a week of two Region 1AAAA victories. On Tuesday the Lady Cats shut out the Worth County High School Lady Rams 3-0 at the Lady Cats Diamond.

Bates retired 12 straight batters over four innings in her perfect-game effort. Teams leading by 12 runs after four innings are declared winners. It was Bates’ fifth straight shutout.

“Brooke Bates was very strong in her no-hitter effort against Monroe,” Lady Cats head coach Amy Thomas said. “Our batters really came through as well.”

Bates went all the way striking out eight and allowing just three hits over seven innings against Worth County. First baseman Tori Sprenkle gave the Lady Cats an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first inning. She also singled in a run during a two-run third inning rally.

Coach Thomas said she was very proud of her team’s effort against the Lady Rams.

“When you put strong pitching and clutch hitting together like we did today, you are going to win a lot of games,” she said following the victory over the Lady Rams.

“We also played solid, error-free defense,” Thomas said. “The young ladies hustled and played hard. They  were  just fundamentally sound in all aspects of the game.”

The Lady Cats will return to action Tuesday, Sept. 2 when they host the Seminole County High School Lady Indians in a non-Region 1AAAA game. Their next Region 1AAAA game will be Thursday, Sept. 4 when they host the Americus Sumter County High School Lady Panthers at the Lady Cats Diamond.