ROCKINGHAM — Facing a large deficit early in Friday’s home non-conference game, the Richmond Senior High School softball team couldn’t dig itself out.
Starting a two-game weekend series with Northside-Pinetown High School, last year’s 1A state runner-up, the Lady Raiders lost 22-7 in five innings.
The Lady Panthers jumped ahead 9-2 after the first inning and added five more runs in the second inning.
While Richmond scored at least one run in three of the five innings, Northside-Pinetown scored one in the third, four in the fourth and three more runs in the fifth.
The Lady Raiders used a trio of pitchers in the game, starting with senior Madelynn Pearson, who later re-entered the game in the circle in the fifth inning. She threw 1.2 innings and gave up 11 runs (seven earned) on four hits and five walks, and had the team’s three strikeouts.
Sophomore Emma Rusich and freshman Carley McCormick each pitched 1.2 innings as well. Rusich surrendered seven earned runs on nine hits, while McCormick gave up four runs (two earned) on three hits.
After a nine-run top of the first by the Lady Panthers, Richmond scored two runs in the home half when Rusich doubled to the alley in left-center field. Scoring on the hit were Pearson and senior Jakayla Steele, both of whom reached safely on a single.
The Lady Raiders’ most productive inning at the plate was a four-run bottom of the third, which made it a 15-6 deficit.
Junior Hayden Robinson was plunked by a pitch to lead off the inning and scored in the next at-bat when Steele lined a triple to the wall, one of her team-high two hits. Freshman Lexi Smith did a job with an RBI groundout to the right side of the infield to plate Steele.
Richmond’s other two runs were scored when junior Kinsie Lyerly (error) scored on a passed ball and senior courtesy runner Trinity Lockhart, running for McCormick (single), raced home on a wild pitch.
Down 13 runs in the bottom of the fourth, Steele reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second and third base. Another pitch to the backstop allowed her to score Richmond’s final run.
The Lady Raiders (3-7) will also host Northside-Pinetown (6-2) Saturday at 11 a.m.
