Lady Warriors catch Marlins
Published 9:52 pm Wednesday, April 13, 2016
The Nansemond River High School softball team wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard on Wednesday. The Lady Warriors turned an early 2-0 lead into an 8-0 victory over visiting Bayside High School.
“If we get rolling offensively, I know we can put up runs,” NR coach Gabe Rogers said.
It was Nansemond River’s second game in a row that it met Rogers’ recently reinforced objective of scoring early.
The Lady Warriors had been quiet offensively to start games this season, forcing them to scramble to put together late rallies in order to achieve wins.
After some encouragement from Rogers, they fixed that issue in Friday’s 10-0 victory over visiting Great Bridge High school, scoring three runs in the first inning and six in the second.
On Wednesday, Nansemond River scored two runs in the first. Senior KateLynn Hodgkiss got on by a walk. Senior Calah Savage hit a triple, and then junior Katelyn Biando squeezed her in for the 2-0 lead.
“We didn’t score anything for a couple more innings, but even in the second and third inning, in both of those innings, we had runners on second and third with one out,” Rogers said. “Their pitcher made some really good pitches in that situation, and we didn’t capitalize.”
The scoreboard remained the same, “but the fact of the matter was we had opportunities,” he said. “I felt very good about us having opportunities. So that was a positive.”
The Lady Warriors put a lot of balls in play and got back to their roots, as Rogers put it, by trying to put pressure on the opposing defense to make plays.
There were a variety of offensive standouts for Nansemond River, led by senior Jaclyn Mounie.
“Jac is hitting the ball fantastic right now,” Rogers said. “She’s just seeing the ball so well.”
Mounie produced some hard hits, and Savage contributed a double and a triple. Others to provide key hits included junior Kelly Lafferty, sophomore Hannah Gill and Biando.
Hodgkiss was also a presence on the bases, and because of her speed, “when she gets on base, it really opens a lot of opportunities for us,” Rogers said.
The Lady Warriors racked up six of their runs in the fifth inning.
NR junior Madison Rhoads pitched the first six innings of the game, allowing only one walk and a few hits, while spinning the ball well.
“She threw the ball extremely well tonight, did a good job of hitting her spots and commanding her pitches, so we’re especially happy with the way she threw.”
Freshman Misty Even came in and pitched the last inning.
Nansemond River (9-2) hosts defending Group 6A state champion Grassfield High School on Friday.
“They’re extremely excited by this game,” Rogers said of his players. “Grassfield is a very talented group of girls.”