ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior High School softball team dropped its first Sandhills Athletic Conference game on the season on Tuesday after winning its first five.
Hosting Scotland High School, the Lady Raiders saw a one-run deficit in the middle innings turn into a 12-2 loss in five innings.
Head coach Mike Way said it was a game “that got away from us,” adding that an uncharacteristic top of the fifth inning didn’t help the team’s outcome.
Scotland took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but it was the work of junior Katie Way that pulled Richmond within a run.
In the bottom of the third inning with the deficit still at three runs, Way dug in and crushed a 1-0 offering by pitcher Avery Stutts for a two-run homer over the wall in right-center field.
Scoring ahead of Way, who connected on her third longball of the season, was junior Addy Hollingsworth. Earlier in the inning, Hollingsworth reached on a fielder’s choice.
Despite Richmond closing the gap, Scotland (9-2, 6-0 SAC) sent a dozen batters to the plate in the top of the fifth to score nine runs and make it a 10-run advantage.
The Lady Scots used six hits and three walks to plate all of their runs in the fifth frame.
The Lady Raiders only had two hits in the game. Aside from Way’s home run, the other was a leadoff single in the bottom of the first inning by senior Quston Leviner. Richmond also committed three errors in the loss.
Looking to get back in the win column, the Lady Raiders (8-2, 5-1 SAC) will start the second round of conference play at home on Friday.
Southern Lee High School (7-4, 2-4 SAC) will make the trip to Rockingham and start at 7 p.m.
JV Lady Raiders suffer loss to Scotland
The Richmond junior varsity softball team lost 21-2 to Scotland on Tuesday.
Playing just four innings, Richmond scored solo runs in the first and fourth frames, while also not registering a hit.
Sophomore Trinity Lockhart led off the first with a hit-by-pitch and later scored on a sacrifice fly by freshman Hayden Robinson.
The team’s other run was scored when Robinson (hit-by-pitch) crossed home safely on a passed ball.
The JV Lady Raiders (4-1-2, 1-1-1 SAC) will host Southern Lee on Friday at 5 p.m.
