The Prince Edward-Farmville Youth Association (PEFYA) Ponytails All-Stars, representing Virginia, struggled early against South Carolina on Saturday and fell 16-8 in their first game of the double-elimination Dixie Softball Ponytails X-Play World Series in Sumter, South Carolina.

The loss was the PEFYA Ponytails’ first this summer, making them 8-1 this year. They play again Sunday morning.

“We just had probably about eight or nine errors in the first two innings, and it was just very uncharacteristic of this team,” Virginia Manager Larry Conwell said. “We probably didn’t have eight errors in the district and state tournaments combined.”

He said he did not know if nerves were the issue, but he gave credit to South Carolina for being a good team, though he felt like his squad was capable of beating it.

After the initial struggles, “we played solid defense the rest of the game,” Conwell said, but he estimated that nine or 10 of South Carolina’s runs had come off of Virginia errors.

Alyson Lucas provided one of the few highlights for Virginia, hitting a triple.

The game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m., but due to rain delays, it became an evening contest, starting around 6:30 p.m.

Virginia will face Texas on Sunday at 10 a.m.

“We need to get a win tomorrow,” Conwell said Saturday evening. “I think we’ll play better. I think our nerves are done, and hopefully tomorrow we can play our kind of softball.”