Mathews obliterates Lady Panthers with carousel of runs in second inning

Charles City’s Janiya Washington (right) is able to reach third base before a tag is applied by a Mathews’ player.

Robb Johnson photo

It’s no secret that playing in the Tidewater District is tough for the Charles City Lady Panthers softball team. A Tuesday afternoon contest against the visiting Mathews Lady Blue Devils reemphasized that point.

A huge second inning by the visiting Lady Blue Devils propelled them to a 24-0 mercy rule win over Charles City.

By the Lady Panthers standards, surrendering only four runs in the first inning kept them in the contest at the beginning. But with the inability to get the bats going in their half of the frame, Mathews would use the top of the second inning as a carousel, pushing across 15 runs to a huge lead. From there, five more additional runs, with a pair courtesy of back-to-back home runs by Lady Blue Devils Ashton Hudgins and Avery Thomas, were enough for the visitors to create distance in a game that never got closer.

After the contest, Charles City Lady Panthers head coach said the team had too many miscues that affected the contest.

“We had a lot of errors that we hadn’t been making before,” the coach commented. “That comes from being torn down and not making the plays we need to.”

Charles City falls to 2-6 on the season.