Lady Jags sink Lady Pirates at River Run Park, 14-1

The Northridge Lady Jags softball team hosted the Lady Pirates from Pickens Academy at River Run Park on Thursday afternoon. The Lady Jags turned in a big first inning, scoring right runs and went on to claim a 10-run rule victory, 14-1.

Pickens Academy sent four batters to the plate in the first inning, yielding two ground outs, one hit and 4-3 putout. In the bottom half of the inning, Anna Grace Reed was hit by a Lady Pirate pitch at the leadoff spot. Reed promptly stole second and third on the first two pitches to Kenzlee Ringo, who grounded to the pitcher, allowing Reed to score the first run of the game for the Lady Jags. Anna Cate Henderson followed with a hard grounder to third and reached first base. Anna Cate subsequently stole second and third. Mary Hayes Henderson singled to left, scoring Anna Cate (2-0). After a line out to first, Madelyn Abston moved Mary Hayes to third on a single to left. A passed ball moved Mary Hayes and Madelyn up one base each, then Riley Hollingshead drew a walk to load the bases. Mary Hayes scored (3-0) on a passed ball, which allowed Abston and Hollingshead to move to third and second. Next, Millie Tucker drew a walk, to draw load the bases. Abston scored on a wild pitch (4-0) with Berkley Davis (courtesy runner for Hollingshead) moving to third and Tucker advancing to second. Caroline Pate then drew a walk to load the bases once again.

In her second at-bat of the first inning, Reed tripled to left, scoring Davis, Tucker and Pate (7-0).Ringo’s second trip to the plate resulting in a walk, with Ringo continuing to second. Reed scored on a passed ball (8-0) and Ringo took third. A fly out in foul territory ended the inning for the Lady Jags, who were now holding an 8-0 lead after one inning of play.

After another scoreless, four-batter turn at the plate by the Lady Pirates, Northridge added two more runs to take a 10-run lead. Mary Hayes Henderson singled to start off the inning and advanced to second on a passed ball. The first out of the inning left Mary Hayes at second. Abston reached on an error and advanced to second. Mary Hayes scored (9-0)on the play. A Hollingshead ground out moved Abston to third. Tucker followed with a single to center, driving in Abston (10-0). A fly out would end the bottom of the second, with the Lady Jags increasing their lead to 10-0.

A 1-2-3 inning for Pickens Academy led to Northridge scoring their final four runs of the game. Reed led off by drawing a walk and advanced to second on an error by the Lady Pirates’ catcher. Then, Reed claimed third base on a passed ball. Ringo walked, giving the Lady Jags runners at the corners. Ringo took second without a throw and Reed remained at third. Anna Cate Henderson singled to center, scoring Reed (11-0) and Ringo (12-0), and took second on the attempt to throw out Ringo. Anna Cate stole third and scored (13-0) on Mary Hayes Henderson’s single to center. Mary Hayes advanced to second on the throw. The first out of the inning left Mary Hayes at second. Abston returned to the plate and moved Mary Hayes to third with a single to center field. Mary Hayes scored (14-0) on a passed ball and a double play by the Lady Pirates ended the inning.

Pickens Academy picked up a single run in the top of the fourth inning to make it 14-1, in favor of the Lady Jags. Northridge picked up a single from Reed in the bottom of the fourth, but failed to score. The Lady Jags held the Lady Pirates off the board in the top of the fifth inning, ending the game via the 10-run rule.

Mary Hayes Henderson led the Lady Jags at the plate, going 3-for-3 on the afternoon. Reed recorded a 2-for-2 performance. Anna Cate Henderson and Abston collected two hits each. Tucker rounded out the hits column with one hit. Reed and Mary Hayes scored three times each. Anna Cate and Abston scored two runs apiece. RIngo, Tucker and Pate crossed the plate one time each. Reed totaled three RBIs, with Anna Cate and Mary Hayes collecting two RBIs each. Ringo and Tucker were credited with one RBI apiece.

Anna Cate Henderson completed five innings, giving up one run on three its, while striking out five and issuing one walk.