After not playing in nine days, Richmond Senior interim softball coach Shelley Wimpey didn’t know what to expect from her Lady Raiders in Friday night’s Southeastern Conference home game against Lumberton.

But Richmond did not look rusty at all in a 6-0 win over the Lady Pirates in the 2010 SEC opener for both squads.

The Lady Raiders (4-3 overall, 1-0 SEC) spent the majority of their break working on their defense, and it showed: Richmond played error-free softball.

And pitcher Casey Snead kept the Lady Pirate hitters off-balance all night long, striking out nine en route to the shutout.

“Casey just threw an awesome game, and we got timely hitting and played good defense,” Wimpey said. “

Richmond struck first in the bottom of the first: Maggie McKenzie led off with a solo homer to center. With one out, Brittani Hodges singled, but with two outs, a rain shower caused the umpires to pull the teams off the field. When play resumed after about 20 minutes, the Lady Raiders got a walk from Alex Gardner to put runners at first and second, but a popup to short ended the threat.

The Lady Raiders added to their lead in the bottom of the third. A pair of walks and an infield single by Hodges loaded the bases. Gardner drove in a run with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 Richmond lead.

Lumberton had its best scoring opportunity in the top of the fourth, when consecutive one-out singles by Kenna Cain and Kacey Dent put runners at first and second. But a force-out at second on a fielder’s choice and a strikeout stranded the runners.

Richmond picked up another pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Hodges walked, and Rebecca Kinsey hit a drive to left that was mishandled for an error. Gardner drew a walk to load the bases, and with one out, Ashlee Floyd doubled into the gap in left-center to score two runs and give the Lady Raiders a 4-0 advantage.

The Lady Raiders added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. McKenzie singled, and Kandace Frye drew a walk.

With two outs, pinch-hitter Morgan Denham hit a two-RBI single to left.

Richmond hit’s the road for a pair of SEC games next week, traveling to Pinecrest on Tuesday and Scotland on Thursday.

n Contact sports editor David Vantress at 997-3111, ext. 14 or via email at dvantress@yourdailyjournal.com.