ROCKINGHAM — A steady flow of runs Monday advanced the Richmond Senior High School softball team.
Opening the first round of the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament, No. 4 Richmond earned its second win in three tries this season against No. 5 Pinecrest High School.
Thanks to multiple runs in the first, third innings and sixth innings, the Lady Raiders ended the Lady Patriots’ season with a 8-4 win.
Putting together another strong outing in the circle was senior Madelynn Pearson. She threw a complete game and allowed two earned runs on four hits while striking out six batters.
Pinecrest scored its first run on an RBI groundout in the top of the first inning.
Answering with two runs in the bottom half, Richmond took the early lead and never looked back. Junior Hayden Robinson recorded an RBI with a sacrifice fly, scoring senior leadoff batter Trinity Lockhart (hit-by-pitch).
Following a pair of two-out walks to senior Jakayla Steele and sophomore Emma Rusich, junior Kinsie Lyerly made it 2-1 with an RBI base hit back up the middle.
Pearson recorded back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the second and third frames, and got a larger cushion when Richmond scored three runs in the bottom of the third.
Robinson tripled to start the inning and Steele drew a walk in the next plate appearance. Taking off for second, Steele swiped the bag safely and an errant throw allowed Robinson to score.
Steele, along with Rusich (walk), both crossed home plate in the half inning thanks to a series of errors to extend Richmond’s lead to 5-1.
Pearson stayed dialed in during the fourth and fifth innings, facing just seven batters to maintain the lead.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, freshman Lexi Smith made it a five-run advantage with an RBI single to left field. Fellow freshman Carley McCormick, who singled earlier in the inning, scored on the hit.
The Lady Patriots (6-17) got two runs back in the top of the sixth. The first run was scored on an error and a sacrifice fly brought in the second run.
Answering with two runs in the sixth, the Lady Raiders scored both runs with two outs. Robinson drew a free pass from Addisyn Stayskal (6 innings, 8 runs, 5 hits) and scored on an RBI single by Steele.
With the bases loaded a couple of batters later, Steele scored on a wild pitch.
Stayskal homered to lead off the top of the seventh for Pinecrest’s final run. Pearson retired three of the next four batters to preserve the win.
The No. 4 Lady Raiders (9-16) will try to upset No. 1 Scotland High School (21-1) during the semifinal round of the SAC tournament Tuesday. Richmond will travel to Laurinburg and begin at 6 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: Statistics and game information provided by Richmond’s Game Changer.
