In battle of undefeated teams, Lady Trojans smash Grafton in 10-0 shutout

New Kent’s Morgan Berg would make contact with a pitch that drives home the Lady Trojans’ tenth run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Robb Johnson photo

Both the hosting New Kent Lady Trojans and visiting Grafton Lady Clippers entered the Apr. 13 Bay Rivers District contest with undefeated records. But with the pedigree of a program that has seen state championships snatched away from them for two years in a row, New Kent proved they wanted it more.

Behind stellar defense and a relentless offensive outpouring of runs, the Lady Trojans cruised to a 10-0 victory over Grafton to remain unblemished on the year.

In the bottom of the first, New Kent’s Noah Murray got on base with a walk, eventually scoring on a wild pitch to put the hosts up 1-0. In the bottom of the third, the Lady Trojans’ bats connected over and over again off Grafton pitching, racking up seven runs. Meanwhile, freshman pitcher Abbie Kegley controlled the mound for the hosts as New Kent’s defense continued to provide stellar support. With two runs added in the bottom of the fourth and not surrendering any additional scores in the top of the fifth, the Lady Trojans’ sealed the game via mercy rule.

After the contest, New Kent Lady Trojans’ Head Coach Maria Bates spoke about her team’s ability to rise up to the challenge.

“This team [Grafton] was undefeated and came in at the top of the district standings,” the victorious head coach said. “It was our biggest game of the season, and we came out and jumped on it.

“The girls played lights out defense,” Bates continued. “We had no walks and for us to have a freshman pitcher [Kegley] to be that under control is rare.”

New Kent’s record improves to 7-0 on the season.