Wildcats Cruise In Softball

Wildcats Cruise In Softball RC Routs Staunton, Waynesboro To Improve To 9-4

With strong hitting, fielding and pitching, the Rockbridge County High School softball team coasted to a pair of Shenandoah District wins last week, defeating Staunton 21-0 at home last Tuesday and winning at Waynesboro 24-6 on Friday.

Both games ended early to the 10-run mercy rule, the first game in five innings and the second in six, and the Wildcats improved to 9-4 overall and 6-4 in the district.

Against Staunton, the Wildcats racked up 18 hits, and RC senior Sadie Moore pitched a perfect game. Pitching all five innings, Moore struck out 13 of 15 batters she faced and allowed no hits and no walks.

“I’m proud of her for that,” said RC head coach Keston Pelter of Moore.

With the victory, the Wildcats completed a sweep of the season series with Storm (0-13 overall, 0-10 district). When the teams met on April 13 in Staunton, RC won 26-0 in five innings.

In the rematch, the Wildcats scored four runs in the first inning before racking up 10 runs in the second, and they added three in the third and four in the fourth.

Leading RC with three hits each were Moore, Page Wright, and Lilly Thomas, who led the Wildcats with four RBIs. Recording two hits each for the Wildcats were Landrey Campbell, Brooke Hostetter and Willow Rogers.

In the monster second inning, Hostetter hit an RBI triple to left field, Thomas brought in three runs with a triple, while Wright and Bella Dorey each hit solo insidethe- park home runs, Wright to right field and Dorey to center field. Moore hit a solo home run to center field to lead off the third inning.

On the mound for Staunton, Bailey Flory pitched a complete game, striking out four while surrendering 18 hits, seven walks and 18 earned runs. Pelter said Flory “has improved from the first time we played them.

The Storm committed two errors, while the Wildcats had none. Pelter said the hitting performance by the Wildcats was a great improvement from their 10-0 loss at Alleghany four days earlier, when they went hitless.

The RC coach said she and her assistant coaches told their players “to make adjustments, hit the ball where it’s pitched, put the ball in play. When they put the ball in play, good things happen.”

“We’ve just got to continue to make our adjustments because we’ve seen various styles of pitching over the last couple weeks,” added Pelter. “That’s why we can’t be complacent.”

RC 24, WHS 6

On Friday at Waynesboro (3-13, 1-10), the Wildcats racked up 28 hits while holding the Little Giants to six.

With the win, RC completed a sweep of the regular-season series. When the teams met on March 31 in Lexington, the Wildcats won 10-1.

The rematch was close early on, with the Wildcats leading 3-2 after the first inning before scoring six runs in the second and adding two more in the third to extend their lead to 11-2.

Waynesboro scored one run in the bottom of the third, but the Wildcats scored four more runs in the fifth to stretch their lead to 15-3. After the Lady Giants scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth, the Wildcats put the game away by scoring nine runs in the sixth.

Hostetter led RC with five hits, while Eliana Lawrie had four hits, and Wright, Moore, Campbell, Kayleigh Rosson and Gracie Pelter each recorded three hits. Moore paced the Wildcats with eight RBIs, hitting a three-run home run to right field in the second inning and bringing in four runs on two doubles.

Leading Waynesboro with two hits each were Bristol Slagle and Maleah Wade.

On the mound, Moore pitched all six innings for RC, striking out 13 while allowing six hits, one walk and six runs (three earned).

Wade pitched all six innings for Waynesboro, striking out two while surrendering the 28 hits and eight walks. All of the Wildcats’ runs were earned. RC committed three errors, while the Lady Giants had none.

The Wildcats were scheduled to play at Stuarts Draft yesterday and will continue district action at Buffalo Gap on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before playing a nondistrict game at Rocktown on Monday and a district game at Wilson Memorial on Tuesday. The Monday and Tuesday games are scheduled to start at 6 p.m.