PEMBROKE — A seventh-inning rally came up one run short for the Richmond Senior High School varsity softball team in its season opener on Monday against what head coach Mike Way called one of the top teams in the state.
Opening their 14-game Sandhills Athletic Conference slate at Purnell Swett High School, the Lady Raiders nearly erased a three-run deficit late, but fell 6-5 to the Lady Rams.
Trailing to start the top of the seventh, an RBI triple from junior Kenleigh Frye scored fellow junior Allyiah Swiney, who led off the inning with a single.
Two batters later, freshman Katie Way grounded into a fielder’s choice for the second out, which allowed Frye to slide safely headfirst past a tag attempt by catcher Chloe Locklear. A roller back to the mound for the game’s final out ended Richmond’s comeback attempt.
“Outside of winning, which is always better, I don’t think tonight could have gone much better,” Way said. “That’s what we had in mind going into tonight. I made a few mistakes with pitch calls, but the best part is we just battled for seven innings with a top-three team in the state.
“We were at the top of the lineup and in a good spot,” he added of the rally attempt. “Unfortunately, we came up one short. It’s tough to score three runs in an inning, but I’m still proud of our girls and how they handled the situation.”
Senior Paige Ransom got the call to start the game in the circle for Richmond, and gave up four earned runs on seven hits in four innings of work. The Lady Rams (1-0) used an RBI single from Locklear and an error to take a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
Senior Paige Ransom prepares to throw a pitch during the second inning of Monday’s opener.
It took the Lady Raiders one time through the lineup to figure out pitcher Summer Bullard, who pitched a complete game and allowed five runs on nine hits. Frye led Richmond with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate, and Ransom picked up a pair of singles.
“Once we got into the game, we started playing really well,” Frye explained. “That’s the fastest pitching we’ve seen in a year, and we really tried to get our nerves out of the way with it being our first game.
“Purnell Swett is one of the best teams in the state and we stood up with them the entire game. That’s big for us and we’ll cut down on our mistakes and keep playing.”
Richmond put three runs up in the top of the fourth inning to take a one-run lead. Frye led off the inning with a single to left and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior Payton Chappell.
Katie Way, who had a team-high two RBIs in her varsity debut, roped an RBI single to center field in the next at-bat. Senior Shyann Byrd came in as a courtesy runner for Way, moved to second on a single from Ransom, and slid safely under the tag at the plate two batters later when junior Maylyn Wallace blooped an RBI single into shallow right.
Ransom moved to third on the throw, and scored when sophomore Macy Steen smoked a hard grounder to shortstop Nyla Mitchell, whose throw to first sailed wide.
“(Bullard) was throwing so hard it took one trip through the lineup to get used to the pace and she was beating us away,” Way explained. “We adjusted by making the outside of the plate the middle of the plate, and we were able to force her to beat us on the inside.”
Richmond would hold onto the lead until the bottom of the fifth inning when Purnell Swett answered with four runs. The Lady Rams tied the game at three on a MariJo Wilkes RBI double, and Mike Way replaced Ransom with fellow senior pitcher Kearston Bruce.
Bruce pitched the entirety of the fifth inning, allowed two unearned runs and struck out one batter. Two Richmond errors allowed Purnell Swett to regain a two-run lead, and a run on a fielder’s choice capped the inning.
The Lady Raiders managed to get runners on second and third with just one out in the top of the sixth, but couldn’t bring any runs home. Sophomore pitcher Quston Leviner entered the circle in the bottom half of the inning and faced just four batters to keep it a three-run game.
Adding to Frye and Ransom’s five combined hits were singles from Swiney, Way, Leviner and Wallace. Each bringing in a run were Frye and Wallace, but the Lady Raiders stranded six runners on base and committed three errors.
“We’ll fine tune some things, but most importantly, we want to keep our fight up going into Wednesday,” Way closed. “We want to build on the momentum from this loss.”
Richmond (0-1 SAC) will return to the diamond Wednesday at Pinecrest High School, which will open its season against the Lady Raiders.
JV Lady Raiders fall late to Purnell Swett
For five and a half innings Monday, the Richmond junior varsity softball team stayed within striking distance of Purnell Swett, but a costly sixth frame resulted in an 11-3 loss.
Trailing 4-3 entering the bottom of the sixth, the JV Lady Raiders allowed seven runs late to drop their season opener.
An RBI single by freshman Addyson Hollingsworth in the top of the first put Richmond ahead, but Purnell Swett’s Georgia Locklear hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the frame.
Hollingsworth walked to start the third, and sophomore Chaslie Holden followed with a single to put runners on first and second. After back-to-back fly outs, freshman Kady Harris smacked one to the centerfield fence for a two-RBI double.
With Richmond leading 3-2, Purnell Swett answered again in the bottom of the third. The first two Lady Rams drew walks. They each stole bases advancing to second and third and were both brought home on sacrifice hits.
The Lady Raiders only managed one more hit after that, a double from Christi Jacobs in the fifth. Sophomore Sydney Smith pitched a complete game and head coach Jordan Fortune said Smith “did really well the entire game.”
Deon Cranford contributed stats and information for the junior varsity game.
