RAEFORD — Facing its first test of the season, the Lady Raider softball team battled Hoke County High School in a nine-inning affair on Tuesday.
Taking a three-run lead into the bottom of the ninth, Richmond came up short 8-7 to the Lady Bucks in the extra-inning Sandhills Athletic Conference contest.
Head coach Mike Way said the Lady Raiders had “several chances to close the door,” but five errors on defense hindered Richmond’s offensive output.
“When push comes to shove we’ve got to be better and clean up some things on defense,” Way explained. “It’s not to say we didn’t do things well because we had some great moments on offense.
“Tonight was just one of those games and it seemed like whoever hit last was probably going to win,” he added.
Hoke County took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, and Richmond answered with two runs in the top of the third inning.
Senior Allyiah Swiney doubled home Addy Hollingsworth (walk), and scored an at-bat later when senior Kenleigh Frye hit a sacrifice fly to center.
An error in the bottom of the fourth tied the game at two, which would hold until the top of the seventh inning.
With two outs and junior Macy Steen on third (walk), freshman Jakayla Steele hit a pinch-hit liner to right and reached on an error, allowing Steen to score.
Hollingsworth went in to run for Steele, and later scored on another Hoke County error on a Swiney ground ball to short.
Leading 4-2, Richmond surrendered two runs to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh.
Junior pitcher Quston Leviner, who threw all nine innings for Richmond, got out of a bases-loaded jam with back-to-back punchouts to force the game into extras.
In the ninth, a sac fly from Frye and a two-RBI double from junior Makayla Parks put the Lady Raiders ahead 7-4. Frye scored Christi Jacobs (hit-by-pitch) and Parks plated Ryelan Lyerly (single) and Swiney (intentional walk).
Hoke County (3-3, 2-0 SAC) used two singles, an error, a hit-by-pitch and a walk-off triple from Aliya Mack to win the game.
Frye and Parks both had two RBIs, Swiney had one and Leviner struck out eight batters.
Richmond (3-1, 1-1 SAC) plays a non-conference game against Anson High School (1-4) at home on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.
JV Lady Raiders edge Hoke County
The Richmond junior varsity softball team defeated Hoke County 11-9 in six innings on Tuesday (time limit).
Trailing 6-1 after three innings, the JV Lady Raiders (2-2) scored five runs in back-to-back innings to secure their second win of the season.
Sophomore Kady Harris was 3-for-4 with a triple, two singles and three RBIs. Fellow sophomore Keyoni Nichols added two hits and two RBIs.
Freshman Kennedy Fields recorded two hits, including a double, and one RBI, and sophomore Caroline Hunsucker notched a hit and added one RBI.
Eight total JV Lady Raiders recorded at least one hit. Freshman pitcher Maddie Pearson tossed a complete game and struck out 10 batters.
