Carter’s walk-off home run pushes New Kent softball to win over Gloucester

New Kent’s Kenley Rowe (5) flips the ball to teammate Rayne Otey (22) to start a crucial double play in the top of the fifth inning.

Robb Johnson photo

New Kent’s Lady Trojans’ softball team has not dropped a regular season contest at home since May 10, 2023. And thanks to Sierra Carter, that streak lives on for at least one more day.

A walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning by Carter sent New Kent to a 9-8 victory over the visiting Gloucester Lady Dukes in Friday evening action in the Bay Rivers District thriller.

The visitors took advantage of Lady Trojan miscues and errors in the top of the first. The Lady Dukes pushed across four runs across the plate before New Kent could take their first at-bat. The Lady Trojans salvaged the inning with a couple of runs in the bottom of the first, but in the top of the second, Gloucester added three more runs to take a 7-2 lead heading into the bottom of the second.

The Lady Dukes attempted to slow down New Kent’s offense, opting for an early pitching change in the bottom of the second. However, the ploy backfired as an RBI single from Kenley Rowe along with a passed ball allowing Mariah Leonard to score cut Gloucester’s lead down to three (7-4). That lead shrank further with Kendall White’s RBI base knock as the hosts trailed by two to close out the frame.

In the top of the fifth, Gloucester returned to the scoring column after an RBI single. New Kent averted further damage as a double play bailed the group out of the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Leonard’s first career home run cut Gloucester’s lead down to two (8-6). Rayne Otey’s base hit drove in the two tying runs as New Kent tied the game up at eight apiece.

With neither team able to break the tie after seven innings, the game headed to extras. After Carter’s strikeout ended the top of the eighth inning, the Lady Trojans went to bat. With Carter stepping up to the plate, her connection with the ball sent it over the outfield wall, ending the game in walk-off fashion and providing New Kent with the victory.

After the contest, New Kent Lady Trojans’ Head Coach Maria Bates could not contain her smile as she spoke about the win.

“After the Grafton loss on Tuesday, we had to chip away and have a short memory,” she said. “When we went down 4-0 in the first inning, we clawed away a little bit.

“When the team was down 7-2 in the second, I asked the team if this is where you can prove to me that you can chip away and come back,” Bates continued. “Can we come back and can we dig deep? They are scrappy and competitive, and I am super proud of them.”

New Kent improves to 10-2 on the season.