Strong defense, third inning scoring lifts New Kent over Warhill

New Kent’s Abbie Kegley (left) snags a throw that results in a force out of Warhill’s Callie Moore (7).

Robb Johnson photo

There was only one team that handed New Kent a loss in their championship campaign last year, and that was the Warhill Lady Lions.

New Kent didn’t forget about that either.

Behind the pitching and hitting of Lady Trojan Morgan Berg, New Kent powered to a 5-1 win over Warhill during the Apr. 19 matchup.

After both teams played evenly through the first couple of innings, the hosts struck first in the bottom of the third. Berg helped her own cause on the mound with a single that brought home teammates Mariah Leonard and Hannah Tolbert to provide the Lady Trojans a 2-0 lead. Moments later, Hannah Perkins deep ball into the gap brought home Berg and teammate Abbie Kegley, providing a New Kent a 4-0 lead at the end of the third.

After tacking on an additional run in the bottom of the fifth, New Kent faced adversity in the top of the seventh inning. Warhill pushed one run across the plate and threatened to close the gap with runners on base. However, New Kent’s Leah Rounds applied a tag at third base to get Warhill’s Keamani Fujimoto out. Against the next batter, Berg, now on the mound, scooped up a ground ball hit directly back at her, forcing an out at first to end the game.

New Kent Lady Trojans Head Coach Maria Bates spoke about the team’s need to bounce back after a competitive loss to Hanover earlier in the week.

“We needed to respond,” she said. “We strung hits together and we had good defense while shutting them down on the base pads.

“Every game is about rhythm and continuing to string hits together,” Bates added. “We must continue the momentum by going into this next week and a half because we have big games.”

The Lady Trojans improve to 7-3 on the season.