Softball team scores winning run in seventh inning;
Warriors shut out Cavaliers in baseball

All three times Suffolk schools have met of the softball diamond, the outcome has come down to one run.

On Tuesday at Nansemond River, Jazmine Card double scored Loren Daubenspeck for the final play of the game, giving the Lady Warriors (6-4, 5-4) a 6-5 win over Lakeland.

On the Warrior baseball diamond, Kyle Moore hit two home runs, giving him three in two days and three in his last four at-bats, as the Warriors beat the Cavaliers 18-0 in five innings.

The Lady Cavaliers (3-6, 3-6) rallied from behind twice in the last two innings after Nansemond River built a 4-0 lead.

While sophomore Sydney Glover held Lakeland’s offense through the first five innings, the Lady Warrior bats repeatedly put pressure on Lakeland.

In the NR first, Kayla Coburn singled with two outs and clean-up hitter Hope Mounie drove Coburn in with a double to deep center field.

Coburn and Mounie opened the NR third with more hitting. Coburn singled and Mounie tripled to the fence in right-center field. NR led 3-0 through three innings and 4-0 after four.

Even in the two innings the Lady Warriors didn’t score, they still got two hits and had runners in scoring position with zero or one out.

With all that, the Lady Cavaliers were still in the game down the stretch and one big inning was all they needed.

Kelsey Smither led off Lakeland’s sixth with a liner into left-center field for a triple. Vici Treat followed with another gapper for another triple, plus Treat got to jog home with the Lady Warrior throw to third going out of play.

Crystal Treat and Mary Ellis singled to keep the rally going, still with no outs, and Megan Bezek drove a single into center, scoring both runners for a 4-4 score.

Still with no outs, Bezek nearly moved into third on a wild pitch, only for Daubenspeck, NR’s catcher, and shortstop Alex Keiser to team up for a critical out. A perfect throw by Daubenspeck and a catch and tag on the run by Keiser stopped what could’ve been the go-ahead run for Lakeland.

“That was Sportscenter material. I was a second away from saying ‘hold onto the ball’ to (Daubenspeck),” said NR head coach Tim Tarafas. “Alex caught it right on her front leg. The throw and catch had to be perfect. I was expecting to see the ball out in left field.”

The Lady Warriors regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Coburn tripled to start the inning and scored on a Lakeland error.

The Lady Cavaliers answered with Smither driving a liner that tipped off Keiser’s glove at short yet still skipped by an outfielder, allowing Smither to race around to third.

With Lakeland down to its last out, Crystal Treat singled with a grounder into center to plate Smither.

The Lady Warriors needed just two pitches to win it in the home half. Daubenspeck hit a shot to the fence in left-center and just beat the throw into third for a triple. Card shot the next pitch into center for the winning run.

Daubenspeck went 3-for-3 at the plate and Coburn went 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Smither led Lakeland’s offense going 3-for-4 with two runs. The Lady Warriors outhit Lakeland 14-11.

Nansemond River (6-3, 6-3) had two seven-run innings in romping past Lakeland (1-9, 1-8) on the baseball diamond.

The Warriors took the lead in two hitters as Tyler Brown and Josh Howard knocked back-to-back doubles to open the NR first.

Two hitters later, Moore launched a three-run homer beyond the left field fence, not far from the one he hit Monday in NR’s win over Hickory.

Moore sent a two-run homer over the center field fence in the second inning to make it 9-0 NR. Howard added a two-run homer in the third inning. Ryan O’Hara went 3-for-3 with four RBI. Zack Rice pitched 4.0 innings and got the win.

According to NR head coach Mark Stuffel, the only slugger he’s had who kept Moore from some type of record streak is Eric Berry, who before he went on to play linebacker at Wake Forest, once opened a season going 3-for-3 with three homers.

Due to an ankle sprain, Moore has been NR’s designated hitter, instead of on the mound or in the outfield, for the last two games.

“I don’t really like (being the DH). I like being part of the whole game, but I’ve been getting my swings in and just staying in the game,” Moore said.

“(Our coaches) are telling us we have to keep this fire, keep up this intensity,” Moore said. “We lost that intensity a little bit but if we keep it up and keep going like this, not many teams can beat us.”