For six of the seven innings it was a pitcher’s duel between Richmond and Pinecrest. But in one inning the Lady Raiders put together all the offenes they would need.

Richmond (3-2, 2-0) scored eight times in the bottom of the fifth to get past the Lady Patriots 8-1 in a Mid-Southeastern Conference softball game Friday afternoon.

“We made adjustments to keep our hands and weight back at the plate,” Richmond coach Wendy Wallace said. “I told them if someone will get a hit, then everyone else will follow.”

After managing only three hits through the first four innings, the Lady Raiders exploded for six hits in the fifth, including a solo home run by Rebecca Kinsey, and also took advantage of three Pinecrest errors in scoring its eight runs.

Kandace Frye opened the inning by drawing a base on balls, promptly stole second and moved to third on Morgan Denham’s sacrifice bunt. Lauren Grant knocked Frye in with a single and Amanda Terry followed with a hit to move Grant to third. Taylor Satterfield put down a sacrifice bunt, but Pinecrest pitcher Keely Robertson’s errant throw allowed Satterfield to reach safely, allowing Grant to score and put runners at second and third. Maggie McKenzie’s ground out scored Terry and Brittany Tedder smacked a triple into right center to score Satterfield. Tedder scored on a wild pitch and Kinsey followed with her solo shot.

Brittani Hodges reached on an error by Pinecrest’s Felicia Wood, stole second and moved to third on Frye’s bunt single. Hodges scored when Frye stole second and the catcher’s throw bounced into center field, allowing Frye to advance to third. Denham closed out the game’s scoring with a single to drive in Frye.

“We played small ball today,” Wallace said. “Once we started hitting, we were more relaxed at the plate. This was the most hits we have had in a game this year.”

McKenzie picked up the victory after allowing just one hit, an unearned run and struck out six.

The Lady Raiders return to action Tuesday at Douglas Byrd beginning at 6 p.m.

Junior varsity team remains undefeated

The Richmond junior varsity softball team improved its record to 5-0 with an 11-1 victory Friday.

Casey Snead led the way for the Lady Raiders by only just one hit, striking out 9 of the 12 batters she faced and had two doubles in three at bats. Faith Richardson and Shannon McCormick each were 3-for-3 on the day, while Alex Gardner went 2-for-3.

The junior varsity team returns to action Wednesday at home against Anson at 5 p.m.