PENDLETON — Just a week after winning the Madison County Tournament, the Pendleton Heights softball team moved on to a bigger stage and even better competition.

The Lady Arabians (8-5) hosted Anderson and Carmel last week before hitting the road for a weekend at the Ben Davis Invitational in Indianapolis.

PH played Class 4A No. 3 Carmel tough after giving up three runs in the first inning, but its effort came up short in a 6-5 defeat.

The game went nine innings, and Lady Arabians starting pitcher Lainie Dishroon went the distance. Two of the first-inning runs for the Greyhounds were unearned and it was a late solo home run that did PH in.

Dishroon had held Carmel scoreless during the four previous innings.

Fellow senior Ashley Warrum was nearly perfect on the night as she came through with four hits and also made big plays in the field from her second base position.

“We battled right back and got momentum going in that game,” said PH coach Scott Hall. “But it’s two different teams. We are struggling to find momentum right now (in the Ben Davis Invitational).”

After knocking off North Central 12-2 in the first game of the Ben Davis Invitational on Friday, the Lady Arabians ran into a team they could see again depending on how far they advance in the postseason.

Class 4A No. 2 Avon threw its best pitcher at PH and the girls had no answer. Butler recruit Jenny Esparza struck out 11 batters over the final four innings and shut the Lady Arabians out 5-0.

Dishroon was solid on the mound for PH, but she walked three batters and gave up three runs in the third inning.

The second game Saturday against Franklin Central was more of the same for the Lady Arabians as they lost 4-0.

PH managed only seven hits in the game and never really threatened to compete. Kinzie Davis pitched for the first time this season in relief of Katie DeWitt and she didn’t disappoint. The freshman gave up only three hits and no earned runs over four innings of work.

The tournament ended with a 4-2 loss to Twin Lakes later in the afternoon. The Lady Arabians had some bright spots with Warrum’s perfect on base percentage and Halee Myers’ two hits, but they couldn’t quite put everything together for the win.

“This is something that’s definitely different,” Warrum said of the losing streak. “But that is part of the game. We have a big week coming up with some conference games, so we just have to step it up.”