RC Bats Come Alive In Shenandoah District Win
After struggling to hit the ball, the Rockbridge County High School softball team snapped a three-game losing streak by earning a 4-2 road win over Shenandoah District rival Riverheads on Thursday.
The Wildcats, coming off a 5-0 home loss two days earlier against district rival Wilson Memorial, ended the week at 10-7 overall and 7-7 in the district.
Against Riverheads (8-10 overall, 4-10 district), a team the Wildcats had beaten 6-0 on April 14 in Lexington, RC racked up 12 hits while holding the Gladiators to six.
“It was a great win,” said RC head coach Keston Pelter. “We finally hit the ball tonight and had a solid defensive game, too.”
Sadie Moore pitched a complete game for the Wildcats, striking out 10 while allowing three walks and two earned runs.
RC took a 1-0 lead in the first when Moore singled on a line drive to left field to bring home Brooke Hostetter.
In the top of the fourth, the Wildcats extended their lead to 3-0. Willow Rogers grounded out to first base, driving in Moore, and Landrey Campbell singled on a hard grounder to center field to bring home Bella Dorey.
Riverheads cut RC’s lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Chesney Dunlap doubled on a hard grounder to left field to drive in Emmy Fitzgerald.
The Wildcats answered back in the top of the sixth when Eliana Lawrie singled on a hard grounder to left field to bring home Dorey, making it 4-1.
The Gladiators scored the final run of the game when Hattie Croft walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth to bring home Kallie Poole.
Leading the Wildcats with two hits each were Dorey, Hostetter and Moore. Fitzgerald paced Riverheads with two hits.
On the mound for the Gladiators, Fitzgerald pitched a complete game, striking out five while allowing no walks and four earned runs.
Riverheads committed one error, while RC had none.
WM 5, RC 0
Leaving eight runners on base, the Wildcats suffered a 5-0 home loss to Wilson Memorial on Tuesday of last week.
The Green Hornets (9-9, 9-4), who had beaten RC 2-0 on March 30 in Fishersville, racked up 10 hits while holding the Wildcats to five.
WM took a 1-0 lead in the first when Harper Tibbs scored on an RC error.
The Hornets added two more runs in the third, scoring on a double by Myleigh Glass and a single by Natalee Chandler, to extend their lead to 3-0.
In the fifth, WM’s Kelsey Payne doubled to right field to bring home Glass, making it 4-0. Glass scored the Hornets’ final run on an RC error in the seventh.
For the game, RC committed three errors while WM had one. Moore pitched a complete game for RC, striking out nine while allowing three walks and five runs (three earned). For WM, Hailey McLain pitched the first three innings, striking out four while surrendering two hits and one walk. In the final four innings, Emorie Hostetter struck out two while giving up three hits and one walk.
Reviewing the game, Pelter said, “At the end of the year, everybody’s gotten better in different places. We’re just not hitting the ball. … We’ve just got to hit the ball where it’s pitched and put the ball in play.”
“It’s just a matter of getting people on base and then putting the ball in play to advance them,” the coach added.
RC was scheduled to play at Rocktown on Monday of last week, but that game was canceled due to rain.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play host to Fort Defiance yesterday and will conclude the regular season today, Wednesday, when they play at Alleghany at 6 p.m.
WILDCAT SENIOR shortstop Bella Dorey gets down to tag out Wilson Memorial’s Kelsey Payne. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
SENIOR SADIE Moore unleashes a pitch. Moore pitched a complete game for the Wildcats, striking out nine while allowing 10 hits, three walks and five runs (three earned). (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
