Richmond No. 1’s Brittani Hodges (10) is tagged out as she attempts to steal by North Moore’s Katelyn Sheffield Thursday afternoon. Richmond No. 1 defeated North Moore 1-0 in its summer softball season finale. Richmond No. 2 lost 10-1 in its game to North Moore.
McKenzie pitched a one-hitter and collected 13 strikeouts to help the Richmond No. 1 team squeak out a 1-0 victory over North Moore Thursday afternoon.
“Maggie threw well, and like I have said before, she seems to be back to 100 percent,” coach Wendy Wallace said. “She hasn’t thrown a complete game all summer and I was going to let her go as long as she stayed sharp. She has developed a new changeup, while she has been playing travel ball. She throws the ball so hard and being able to change speeds is going to make her a more effective pitcher.”
McKenzie needed to be in top form due to the lack of run support as North Moore’s Jessica Garner also kept Richmond’s lineup off balance as the game stayed scoreless heading into the fourth inning. Garner allowed just four hits, issued one walk and had two strikeouts in five innings of work.
“She was actually their No. 2 pitcher, and she was effectively throwing her changeup,” Wallace said. “But we were also not aggressive at the plate.”
Richmond finally broke the stalemate in the bottom of the fourth. Alex Gardner singled to leadoff and McKenzie followed with a sacrifice bunt. Mustangs’ second baseman Elizabeth Collins dropped the ball while covering first, allowing McKenzie to advance to second and Gardner to move to third. Rebecca Kinsey’s deep sacrifice fly to center field scored Gardner, giving Richmond the lone run of the contest.
“We didn’t hit the ball well and they’ve got a strong team,” Wallace said. “But we were able to scratch a run across and that proved to be the difference.”
The No. 1 team avenged its only loss of the summer and wrapped up the summer with an 8-1 record. Wallace feels confident about her team going into next season.
“This summer was great, and I feel like the rising seniors stepped up and took on the leadership role,” Wallace said. “We had some younger players that came along well and they should be able to help us be a strong team.”
After exploding for 18 hits in its first win of the summer Tuesday, the Richmond No. 2 team was limited to one hit in a 10-1 loss to North Moore.
North Moore led 2-1 after two innings of play, and added four runs in the third to break open the contest. The Mustangs tacked on four more runs in the fourth to complete the scoring.
Keonika McBride’s run-scoring single in the second to score DJ Prevatt was Richmond’s lone run of the contest.
Contact sports reporter Corey Davis at 997-3111, ext. 44; e-mail cdavis@yourdailyjournal.com
Post a Comment
