The Rockbridge County High School softball team saw its season conclude with a 2-0 road loss to Shenandoah District rival Alleghany in the first round of the Region 3C tournament last Wednesday evening in Covington.
The 11th-seeded Wildcats finished the year at 10-10 overall and 7-9 in the district, while sixth-seeded Alleghany (14-7 overall, 10-5 district) advanced to the Region 3C quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals on Saturday, the Cougars came up short 4-3 at third-seeded Western Albemarle (17-5).
Alleghany, which had beaten RC in both regular-season meetings, took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Ava Howard singled to center field to bring home Emma Skidmore. Alleghany scored its other run in the third when Paige Webb ran home on a groundout by Brooklyn Taylor.
Webb and Kaylee Nicely led the Cougars with two hits each, while Willow Rogers paced the Wildcats with two hits. Recording one hit each for RC were Gracie Pelter, Kayleigh Rosson and Page Wright.
RC committed two errors, while Alleghany had one. On the mound for Alleghany, Skidmore pitched a complete game shutout, striking out five while allowing five hits and one walk.
For the Wildcats, senior Sadie Moore pitched a complete game to wrap up her record-setting career, striking out seven while surrendering seven hits, no walks and two runs (one earned).
Reviewing the game, RC head coach Keston Pelter said, “The girls played very well on Wednesday. We just didn’t put the ball in play offensively with runners on base when we needed to.
“We played solid defense, and Sadie had great movement with her pitches, hitting her spots. Ultimately, the scoreboard didn’t reflect how we played.”
Moore finished the spring with 174 strikeouts, a single-season program record. For her career, Moore threw 421 strikeouts, also a program record. She’ll continue her academic and softball career at Division III school Roanoke College. She did almost all of the pitching for the Wildcats this season, with junior Harley Tomlin occasionally stepping in to relieve her.
After graduating a pair of starters from last year’s 7-11 team, the Wildcats showed improvement with a solid season in their first year in the Shenandoah District this spring, after playing in the Valley District for the last seven years.
The Wildcats will miss Moore, Rogers, Wright and their three other seniors: Brooklyn Beverly, Landrey Campbell and Bella Dorey.
Pelter, concluding her seventh year as RC’s head coach, said the season ending “was bittersweet for me. Three of the six seniors have been with me since their freshman year. Seeing them improve over their high school career was very rewarding. I also had the honor and privilege of coaching two of the seniors in both basketball and softball since they were eighth graders playing [junior varsity].”
The RC coach said her players “kept me on my toes, and they bought into our coaching styles and were not afraid to be pushed to reach their potential. This team truly will always hold a special place in my coaching career.”
