LAURINBURG — A night after pulling off an upset in the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament, the Richmond Senior High School softball team couldn’t muster more Raider Magic.
The No. 5 Lady Raiders made a valiant effort to upend top-seeded No. 1 Scotland High School, but fell 10-0 in five innings.
Unable to score or hand the Lady Scots their first conference loss of the season, the Lady Raiders registered two hits in the loss.
Facing starting pitcher Avery Stutts, senior Katie Way was responsible for both of Richmond’s hits.
She singled to right field to lead off the top of the first, and added a base knock on a line drive to center field with two outs in the third.
Way’s efforts at the plate proved to be Richmond’s only base runners in the loss. Stutts struck out 11 batters.
Pitching two innings apiece for Richmond were junior Maddie Pearson and junior Kennedy Fields.
Pearson started the game and allowed eight earned runs on seven hits with two Ks. Fields threw in relief and gave up just two earned runs on three hits.
Scotland (17-1) scored six runs in the bottom of the second, which included a grand slam for the final four runs of the frame.
A pair of runs on a two-run shot in the third, coupled with a two-run double in the fourth, put the Lady Scots up 10 runs.
The Lady Raiders (7-11), who were the top-seeded 4A team in the conference, will now await the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s playoff seeding. Brackets are set to be released Monday, May 6.
The Richmond Observer will publish playoff information when it’s made available.
Sports editor’s note: An edit was made at 9:15 p.m. to correct a mistake with Richmond’s pitching.
