Charles City Lady Panthers shutout by undefeated King William Lady Cavaliers

A collision takes place at third base as Charles City’s Kayley Lynch (left) applies a tag to a King William baserunner for an out.

Robb Johnson photo

Charles City’s Lady Panthers district schedule sometimes is unforgiving, such as the case on Apr. 18 as the team hosted the King William Lady Cavaliers and their star pitcher Taylor Johnson, who committed to James Madison University. And while Johnson did her job to keep the Lady Panthers in check, the hosts showed glimmers with improved defense and pitching.

Charles City fell 13-0 to the visiting Lady Cavaliers, as they continue to look to snap their five-game losing skid.

In the opening inning, Johnson got on base with a hit to start the contest. She later advanced around the basepaths, scoring on a wild pitch. A second wild pitch led to another Lady Cavaliers score before King William’s Hollyn Krukowski’s triple allowed for run number three to cross the plate. Charles City’s defense stepped up, getting out the inning mostly unscathed.

Johnson would take to the mound for the visitors, striking out all three of the Lady Panthers she faced in the bottom of the frame. In the top of the second, Johnson hit an inside-the-park home run to help propel King William to three runs in the second inning. Johnson struck out the next six batters she faced before leaving the mound in the bottom of the fourth. From there, King William scored additional runs to lead to the mercy rule victory.

After the contest, Charles City Lady Panthers’ Head Coach Jeff Hayes praised his team for their effort against a top team in the state.

“The girls played well today,” he said. “We have improved tremendously on defense and our pitching is getting better.

“Right now, it’s our offense that needs to pick up,” Hayes added. “We just need to start making content because we have the speed to get around the bases. Overall though, I’m proud of their performance.”

Charles City’s record drops to 1-5 on the season.