Five-run third inning propels Lady Trojans past Jamestown

Erupting for five runs in the third inning, New Kent’s Lady Trojans distanced themselves from Jamestown’s visiting Eagles. The hosts then rode the three-hit pitching of Ashley McMichael to a 6-0 Bay Rivers District softball triumph.

The April 2 outcome upped New Kent’s record to 4-3 in the district while Jamestown dipped to 1-7.

“Today we finally broke out. We finally got our hits together,” a relieved Lady Trojan coach Betsey Lane said afterward.

“We haven’t been making solid contact at all before today and not stringing together hits we need,” she said.

“But today was a big improvement,” she added. “The girls said hitting really felt good.”

New Kent jumped on top in the first after leadoff hitter Tyler Fleming looped a double over the head of Jamestown’s Jill Carter in left field. Dede Samuels bunted Fleming to second and the alert Fleming kept running to third as the defense failed to cover first base. McMichael followed with a sacrifice fly to left, driving in Fleming.

The third inning explosion began with Samuels reaching base on a dribbler between the pitcher’s circle and third base line that Eagle pitcher Katie Ferrell could not field. McMichael then lined Ferrell’s first pitch into left field for a single. Nikki Jones’ sacrifice bunt moved the runners up a base for Maria Bates who singled between shortstop and third to score Samuels. Bates strayed too far off first, drawing a throw that enabled McMichael to up the count to 3-0.

Sarah Barnett then drove a Ferrell pitch to the center field fence to score Bates. Barnett pulled into third with a triple and scored when the next batter, Karianne Burcham, singled past third. Burcham raced home for a 6-0 lead on Dominique Johnson’s double into the left-center field gap.

McMichael gave up just one hit the rest of the way. She finished with seven strikeouts while walking only one.

Events appeared to be working in New Kent’s favor. Trojan pitcher Kyle Henshaw avoided a bases-loaded, no outs catastrophe in the second inning by striking out the next three Jamestown batters he faced. Then with solo runs in the fourth and fifth innings, the hosts owned a 2-0 lead heading into the sixth inning.

But sweet fortune turned sour. The visiting Eagles scored twice in the sixth to tie and pushed across the winning run in the seventh and final frame for a 3-2 win, denying New Kent sole possession of third place in the Bay Rivers District baseball standings. Instead, the Trojans, now 4-3, dropped into fourth behind Jamestown.

“We didn’t hit as well as we’d like, but that’s baseball. Some days it works and some days it doesn’t,” said Trojan coach Ronnie Cox. “We only managed to get one hit with runners in scoring position.”

New Kent broke the scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the fourth after Steven Allen drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and took third on Derrick Curtis’ ground out. With two away, Willie Driscoll lined a single to center, driving in Allen for a 1-0 lead.

Then in the fifth, Kevin Peddicord beat out an infield single, moved to second on Kyle Hudgins’ sacrifice bunt, and pulled into third on Nick Maxim’s ground out. Jimmy Newcomb then sharply grounded to third baseman Tommy Vitaletti who booted the ball, allowing Peddicord to up the advantage to 2-0.

But trouble erupted in the Jamestown sixth as Henshaw walked the first two batters he faced. Vitaletti and Hunter Costley then stroked singles that knotted the game at 2-2.

New Kent threatened to regain the lead in the bottom of the sixth after Kirk Pomfrey lined a one out single down the left field line and alertly raced to second as the Eagle defense botched the relay back to the infield. Driscoll followed with a drive deep into left field, but the Eagles’ Dexter McClure flagged down the ball while backpedaling near the fence to prevent the go-ahead run. Costley, on the mound in relief of starter Ben Perry, then fanned Ryan Patterson to end the threat.

D.J. Ferrara stroked a single off Allen, working in relief of Henshaw, to start the Jamestown seventh. Ferrara worked his way to third and scored on Chris Keltner’s single to right.

Peddicord walked to lead off the Trojan seventh, and Cox allowed the next batter, Hudgins to swing away. Hudgins struck out.

“I was trying to play for the win,” Cox said afterward. “Maybe we could get [Hudgins] on and then bunt them over, but it didn’t work out that way so I decided to play for the tie.”

Maxim laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved Peddicord to second. With Newcomb at the plate, the Eagles brought in Scott Burkett to relieve Costley, and the strategy paid dividends. Burkett got Newcomb to ground out third to first to clinch the win.