RC Softball Team Exits Region 3C In First Round
Facing tough pitching and hitting, the Rockbridge County High School softball team saw its season come to a close with a 10-0 road loss in five innings to Brookville in the first round of the Region 3C tournament on Thursday evening in Lynchburg.
The Wildcats (7-11), who squeezed into the tournament with the 12th seed, managed just one hit against the fifthseeded Bees, who racked up 12 hits. Brookville (11-8) would end its season with a 1-0 road loss to fourth-seeded Monticello on Saturday.
On Thursday, Brookville took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Pailyn Harris scored on a pop out to center field. The Bees made it 2-0 in the second when Lauren Creasy scored on a groundout.
Brookville scored five more runs in the third to extend its lead to 7-0. After a single on a hard grounder by Corrynn Harris, Jasmine Fyffe hit a two-run home run to left field. A two-run homer to right field by Addison Wray made it 6-0, and Skylar Keesee scored on an RC error, the lone error of the game.
The Bees stretched their lead to 8-0 in the fourth when Wray singled on a line drive to center field to bring home Fyffe.
In the top of the fifth, Sadie Moore recorded the Wildcats’ only hit when she led off with a single on a hard grounder to left field, but the Bees picked up two groundouts and a strikeout to end the top half of the inning.
After the Bees hit two singles in the bottom of the fifth, Brookville’s Pailyn Harris tripled on a line drive to right field to bring home Karlee Hudnail and Addison Bond, ending the game early due to the 10-run mercy rule.
“Brookville was a solid team,” observed RC head coach Keston Pelter. They hit the ball and found the gaps to put the ball in play. Their pitching was solid, and they had talented infielders, too. Our girls struggled to hit the ball where it was pitched to put it in play.”
On the mound, Riley Smith earned the win for the Bees, pitching all five innings and striking out six while allowing the hit and no walks in the shutout. Fyffe, Wray and Pailyn Harris picked up two hits apiece for Brookeville.
For RC, Moore pitched a complete game, striking out two while surrendering 12 hits, three walks and 10 runs, nine of them earned.
After going 5-15 and missing the postseason last year, the Wildcats made progress this season to get the chance to play in the regional tournament. RC went 5-8 in the Valley District this year, following a 1-11 season last year. This year’s biggest win was a 3-2 road victory over district rival East Rockingham on May 14, when Moore, a junior, hit a walk-off single to bring home junior Bella Dorey for the winning run. The Wildcats also won both games against local rival Parry McCluer.
The Wildcats will miss their two seniors, Cameron Terry and Parker Dameron. Terry, a right fielder, will be a Division III cheerleader for Roanoke College next fall. Dameron, a catcher, will pursue a degree in education at Bridgewater College. Pelter, completing her sixth year as RC’s head coach, said both seniors “played important roles on the team over the last three seasons.”
Pelter also expressed her gratitude for assistant coaches Cari Mayton, Keith Moore and her father, Wayne Beverley.
“It was great to have Cari back helping,” said Pelter. “She has a natural mind for the game, and she’s helped the girls tweak some areas with their hitting mechanics throughout the season; she also helped us improve and become more aggressive with our base running this season, too.”
Pelter said she’s appreciative of Moore and Beverley for working with the Wildcats’ pitchers and catchers. “Wayne also pushes the girls to bring out the best in them each day,” said Pelter. “He has high standards and worked to instill strong work ethics in them throughout the season and encouraged them to finish a game together as a team.”
