CAMERON — A 12-run fourth inning for the Richmond Senior High School junior varsity softball team led to a win Thursday.
Breaking open a one-run game, the JV Lady Raiders rolled to a 16-3 road win at Union Pines High School. The victory also completed the non-conference series sweep for Richmond.
The JV Lady Raiders took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, which was later tied by Union Pines with a three-run bottom of the second.
A solo run in the top of the third by Richmond was followed by the big inning. The game was called after the top of the fourth due to the time limit.
“This was a great win for us,” head coach Lauren Brewer said. “We’ve been waiting for our bats to have a big game and today we were really able to take advantage of (Union Pines’) pitching. From the leadoff hit in the fourth, things just kept going our way at the plate.
“I’m proud of the girls for bouncing back from a loss earlier in the week against a good team,” she added. “We’re a fairly young team this season, so we’re expecting a learning curve. I thought the girls handled that really well today and our returning sophomores helped set the tone.”
Pitching the shutout win was Autumn Cooper, who made her first start of the season. She pitched three innings and allowed three earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts.
With one away in the first, sophomore Liz Lunceford (leadoff walk) scored on an error for the game’s first run. In the next at-bat, sophomore Annabelle Hinson connected for an RBI double to plate freshman Lyra Newton (error).
Richmond later took a 3-0 lead when sophomore Abby Hinson brought in Millen on an RBI groundout, the first of her team-high three RBI.
Union Pines tied the score thanks to a sacrifice fly and a two-run double in the home half of the second. Cooper worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the same inning when Lunceford caught a pop out in foul territory behind the plate.
Starting the top of the third, Lunceford found the gap for a leadoff triple. Two batters later, Newton slapped an RBI single into left field to score Lunceford and plate the eventual game-winning run.
Efficient in the home half of the third, Cooper faced just four batters and stranded a two-out single to preserve the lead.
In the top of the fourth, the JV Lady Raiders sent 16 batters to the dish, starting with a leadoff triple by freshman Grace Hill. Walks to freshman Makenzie Mabe and sophomore Kaylee Connor loaded the bases.
A wild pitch scored Hill and Lunceford drew a one-out free pass to reload the bases. Wild pitches accounted for the next two runs, scored by Mabe and Connor, to extend the lead to 7-3.
Still with the bases full of runners and one out, Millen reached on an error on a fly ball to left field. That scored Lunceford and freshman Ava Parks (walk) to build the lead to six runs.
With Newton (hit-by-pitch) and Millen in scoring position, Hinson teed up a two-RBI double to cap her big game and make it 11-3.
Starting to bat around the order, Hill connected on a single to put runners on the corners. Freshman Kaydence Cooke brought in Hinson and Hill on the next pitch, barreling a two-RBI triple to right field. That extra-base hit, one of five in the game, padded the lead to 13-3.
Later with two outs and Cooke on third, freshman Haylee McCaskill brought in a run on an RBI single. Richmond’s final two runs were scored by McCaskill and Lunceford thanks to a pair of Union Pines errors.
The JV Lady Raiders (2-1) host non-conference Lumberton High School Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: All game information and statistics provided by the JV Lady Raiders’ GameChanger.
