ROCKINGHAM — Timely hitting early in Wednesday’s season-opening game for the Richmond Senior High School softball team led to its first victory.
Starting its season two days later than anticipated, Richmond didn’t waste any time to hand non-conference opponent Porter Ridge High School an 8-3 loss.
The Lady Raiders used a total of 10 hits from eight different players, paired with a complete game by senior pitcher Quston Leviner, to enter the win column.
From the circle, Leviner threw 7.0 innings and allowed just two hits and struck out five batters. All three runs were unearned, as four errors by Richmond in the game helped the Lady Pirates on the board.
In the top of the first, Leviner worked out of a two-on, no-out jam.
An error and a single put runners on first and second, but Leviner used a strikeout, a flyout and a 4-3 groundout to junior Ryelan Lyerly at second to escape the threat.
Richmond’s bats got to work in the home half, helping the team jump out to a 3-0 lead. Senior Macy Steen recorded the team’s first run of the season on an RBI groundout to short, plating junior Katie Way (hit-by-pitch).
In the next at-bat, Lyerly dug in and lasered the first pitch she saw from pitcher Kayla Purdy (6.0 IP, 10 hits, 8 earned runs, 3 Ks) over the wall in center field for the Lady Raiders’ first home run of the season.
The two-run shot brought home senior Makayla Parks, who reached on a single to shallow center field.
Despite sophomore JaKayla Steele doubling to center field and junior Christi Jacobs drawing a walk, the Lady Raiders stranded two runners on base.
Porter Ridge (0-1) evened the score in the top of the second. An error allowed a run to score and a two-RBI single by Alexa Fusco made it 3-3. A 4-6-3 double play started by Lyerly at second to Way ended the inning.
After that, the offense was all Richmond, starting with two more runs in the bottom of the second. A leadoff walk to junior Addy Hollingsworth and a single by Way to center put two on with one out.
Parks recorded her solo RBI in the win in the next at-bat, sending a single to center on a line drive to score Hollingsworth.
Steen collected her second RBI of the game, tied with Leviner and Lyerly for the team lead, with an RBI fielder’s choice to second. Way scored from third to make it 5-3, while Parks was forced out at second.
Two key defensive plays in the top of the third helped the Lady Raiders maintain their two-run lead. Parks made a diving catch on a line drive to first, and Steen started a 2-1-6 relay to nab Purdy trying to steal second.
In the home half of the third, two more runs were scored by the Lady Raiders to make it 7-3. Steele, who reached via a walk and moved to third on a sac bunt and a steal, swiped home.
Hollingsworth followed with a two-out double down the left field line and Leviner helped her cause by barreling up a triple to the wall in right field, plating Hollingsworth.
A 1-2-3 top of the fourth and a four-batter top of the fifth from Leviner kept Richmond ahead.
The Lady Raiders scored their final run of the game in the fifth, when Leviner smacked an RBI single up the middle to score Jacobs (double).
Closing the door, Leviner faced just four batters in each of the next two frames. Neither base runner advanced past first base. Lyerly recorded the final out on a pop fly to second base.
The Lady Raiders (1-0) will play another home game on Friday against non-conference Montgomery Central High School (0-1). Action will start at 7 p.m.
Time limit leads to season-opening tie for JV softball
The Richmond junior varsity softball team began its season against Porter Ridge on Wednesday, ending in a 6-6 tie due to the time limit.
Playing six innings, the teams battled back and forth, with Richmond knotting the score in the final half frame.
Sophomore Maddie Pearson pitched all six innings for Richmond, allowing six earned runs on 11 hits. She struck out 10 batters.
The JV Lady Raiders scored two runs in the second, solo runs in the third and fifth frames, and tied it with two more runs in the sixth.
Kinsie Lyerly led the team with three hits, including a double, and added an RBI. Pearson, Trinity Lockhart, Hayden Robinson and Kamryn Simmons each had two hits.
Rounding out the team’s 13 hits were Mikayla English and Addison Raines with one apiece. English, who tripled and scored on a throwing error, had two RBIs.
Tallying one RBI each were Robinson, Simmons, Lyerly and Addison Connor.
“Maddie pitched a great game,” head coach Jordan Fortune said. “She had 10 strikeouts, which was good and the team played hard from start to finish.
“There were several good hits. The first game is a learning curve so now we know what we’re good at and what we need to improve on.”
The JV Lady Raiders will look for their first win of the season on Friday against non-conference Montgomery Central, starting at 5 p.m.
