Lady Trojans survive scare from Warhill, wins 5-4 to open home slate

By Robb Johnson | March 19, 2022 1:37 am

New Kent Lady Trojan Noah Murray (left) lunges for the ball that she would eventually catch to prevent a score as teammate McKenna Mueller (right) hustles into the back-up position for assistance.

Robb Johnson photo

One of the biggest hurdles facing New Kent’s Lady Trojans’ softball team is the expectation to always win. And after opening the season with a pair of victories, it was clear that Friday’s afternoon affair against the visiting Warhill Lady Lions proved that this season will be a battle-tested journey.

Despite a late controversial call, New Kent held on to a 5-4 victory over Warhill in the Bay Rivers District contest, allowing the Lady Trojans to move to 3-0 on the year.

Moving into the lead role as New Kent’s hurler is freshman Abbie Kegley fter the departure of Gracie Ellis due to graduation. Nervousness was apparent for Kegley, as Warhill was able to rattle her with two early runs.

But the Lady Trojans had her back at the bottom of the first. A triple by Hannah Perkins coupled with errors by Warhill allowed two runs to cross the plate during the bottom half of the frame, knotting the game at two apiece. In the second inning, Kegley, now at bat, connected on a double. Teammate Addi Rowe’s sacrifice brought her in, and New Kent took the lead (3-2).

Warhill tied the game in the top of the third after a passed ball allowed Shekinah Sota to cross home plate. Both teams added a run in the fourth inning, keeping the game tight. In the bottom of the fifth, Jessica Taggart outfield knock brought home another run for the hosts as they took a 5-4 lead.

Warhill had opportunities in the last two innings. In the top of the sixth, a blast into center field by Warhill’s Keamani Fujimoto, only to be grabbed by Norah Murray to end the inning. In the top of the seventh, Lady Lion Mallory Herspold hit a ball that appeared to advance her teammate and place runners on first and second. However, Herspold was ruled out for stepping outside the batter box, nullifying the play. Moments later, Kegley fanned the last batter to end the contest.

After the contest, New Kent Lady Trojans Head Coach Maria Bates spoke about the gritty win over Warhill.

“I liked that we had to go through some of this adversity early in the season,” she said. “We have young player son the team, so to see them work through this, come out on top, and not falter in the face of adversity was really special.”