New Kent softball comeback falls one run short

New Kent shortstop Paige Simpson waits to tag out Smithfield's Kim Cratsley on a first inning steal attempt at second base.

Alan Chamberlain photo

New Kent Lady Trojan head coach Nicole O’Bier knows that a signature softball win against a quality opponent is on the horizon for her young team. It’s just a matter of time.

“I promise you it will happen eventually,” she predicts.

And that breakthrough almost took place today (Tuesday).

Twice the Lady Trojans battled back from deficits as they faced Smithfield’s visiting Packers. But a six-run Packer lead late in the game proved a bit much to overcome. In the end, the hosts fell just short by a 9-8 count.

“We fell behind 3-1 and then 9-3, but we chose to fight,” said O’Bier, whose team dipped to 1-6. “I’ve seen a lot of confidence that’s been building up in these girls over the past few weeks.”

The Lady Trojans jumped on top in the first inning behind Paige Simpson’s leadoff single, Jada Evans’ double, and Peyton Slater’s RBI grounder scoring Simpson for a 1-0 lead.

Smithfield, however, capitalized on a pair of errors to manage three runs in the second.

New Kent erased the Packer lead in the fourth. Haley Cleaver doubled, Emily Angle singled, and both later scored with Erika Richards and Annie Gray receiving RBI credit.

Smithfield appeared to put the contest out of reach with a six-run fifth, but the hosts loaded the bases in the sixth for Simpson who cleared the sacks with a triple. Evans followed with triple driving in Simpson. Moments later, Evans raced home on a Slater sacrifice to close the gap to a single run.

But New Kent could not overtake the visitors for a second time. Packer pitcher Haley Lanford got out of the sixth before retiring the Lady Trojans in order in the seventh to preserve the win.