ROCKINGHAM – It was a cold start to the night for the Richmond Senior High School varsity softball team, but by game’s end, the Lady Raiders’ bats were on fire and helped earn their first win of the 2018 season.
With the temperature lingering around 40 degrees, Richmond used an explosive eight-run fifth inning to mercy-rule visiting Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Purnell Swett High School 11-1 in the conference opener.
A make-up game from Tuesday due to rain, it was the Lady Raiders’ first action in eight days since opening the season last Wednesday against Marlboro Academy. And while it took some time to get the runs head coach Wendy Wallace knew would come, Richmond (1-1, 1-0 SAC) relied on multiple-RBI performances by sophomore Madison Jordan and junior Greyson Way.
“It’s definitely good to get that first win of the season,” Wallace said. “We had to settle our nerves, but that first win will hopefully get us on a roll. Early in the game, we looked a little uncomfortable at the plate, but we started looking better at the plate when we were relaxed and weren’t trying so hard.”
An “uncharacteristic first inning” by junior pitcher Way allowed the Lady Rams (1-1, 0-1 SAC) to get on the board first. A leadoff walk to Nakyra Mitchell was followed up with a wild pitch by Way that allowed her to advance to second base.
In the same at-bat against Kaitlyn Hunt, a dropped third strike (passed ball) allowed Mitchell to advance to third and Hunt to make it safely to first. Next to the plate was Madison Strickland, who roped a line drive at third baseman Payton Chappell, who committed an error on the play, and Mitchell broke Purnell Swett into the scoring column to lead 1-0.
But Way would settle in after the first-inning blunders, and sit down 11 of the next 13 batters at the plate. Earning her first win of the year on the mound, Way pitched five innings, racking up nine strikeouts, while allowing just three hits and the lone leadoff walk.
Purnell Swett starting pitcher Jaileana Deese made it tough on Lady Raider batters through the first three innings, only allowing an Owen Bowers double down the third baseline. She got some help from her infield, which recorded six groundball outs through the first nine outs.
All of that would change for the Lady Rams when Way tied the game by leading off the bottom of the fourth with a moonshot home run over the left field wall. The towering shot was Way’s first of the year, and she added to her program-leading tally with number 23 in her career.
Teammate Kayla Hawkins would draw a walk on the next at-bat, and Bri Baysek collected an infield single to put runners on first and second with no outs. Following a ground ball out, Jordan smoked a two-RBI double to center field, scoring Hawkins and Baysek to go up 3-1.
And that was just the beginning of the end for the Lady Rams.
After a four-batter top of the fifth that saw no further damage done by the Lady Rams, Richmond shortstop Savannah Lampley led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk, her first of two on the night. She would steal second and reach third on a wild pitch, while Bowers reached first on a walk. Way entered the batter’s box and sent another high fly ball to the wall for a long single, scoring Lampley and advancing Bowers to second.
Hawkins would ground into a fielder’s choice, as Bowers was forced out at third. Baysek loaded the bases with a walk, and junior Taylor Parrish would nab her first RBI of the season, scoring Way, with a bloop single to right field to push the score to 5-1.
Jordan watched four balls go by to walk in another run before Purnell Swett made a pitching change, replacing Deese with Torrie Butler. The freshman pitcher wouldn’t fare any better, as she would allow a bases-loaded four-pitch walk to Chappell against her first batter.
Up 7-1, Richmond would ice the cake thanks to a combination of sloppy pitching and errors by the Lady Rams. Parrish would cross the plate on a wild pitch (8-1), and Jordan would score on a Jadyn Johnson fielder’s choice to first base (9-1).
Chappell, who had advanced to third on the fielder’s choice, notched the tenth run of the game when Purnell Swett catcher Katelyn Jones committed a throwing error. Lampley, meanwhile, drew her second walk, stole second, and eventually scored the game-ending run on a passed ball.
Though the Lady Rams’ wheels falling off late may have helped Richmond earn the win, Wallace was proud of her team’s ability to settle down and bounce back from a slow start.
“Greyson settled down and did excellent (after the first inning),” Wallace commented. “She got ahead and hit her spots.
“We knew that bats would come, we just had to get them going,” she continued. “One after another, we became more we relaxed at the plate, and the runs came.”
Jordan finished the night 1-for-2 at the plate with a double and a team-best three RBIs. Way led all players with two hits, and added two RBIs of her own. As a team, Richmond collected seven hits, seven walks and only struck out twice, something Wallace has noted as being a team goal to reduce.
Richmond will see the Lady Rams again soon, as they’ll travel to Purnell Swett Friday evening. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
