Carousel of baserunners lift Lady Panthers to victory in softball home opener

By Andre Jones | March 17, 2016 8:39 pm

Charles City Lady Panther shortstop Sydney Richard (right) checks for the advancement of a runner to home plate after tagging Armstrong's Shana Nichols during a rundown.

Andre' Jones photo

Capitalizing from free trips to basepaths, Charles City Lady Panthers’ softball team used aggressive running as they pushed across 20 runs for a victory over visiting Armstrong 20-6 in the Mar. 17 home opener.

The visiting Lady Wildcats took the lead in the top of the first, as Jada Bryant and Shana Nichols crossed home plate courtesy of Kayla Kimbrough’s single. Kimbrough would score later as Armstrong took a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first.

But patience was key for the Lady Panthers when it was their turn to step to the plate. Meryah Bates singled for the hosts and later scored on a passed ball. Two walks and a hit by pitch later resulted in the bags full for Charles City. Keanna Motley’s sacrifice brought the hosts within two, with subsequent passed balls giving the hosts a 4-3 lead. The Lady Panthers reeled off seven consecutive walks and built a 9-3 lead before Motley’s second at-bat in the inning accounted for the second hit of the game. Charles City accumulated a 15-3 lead before Armstrong put together back-to-back outs to escape the inning.

The Lady Wildcats added one run in the next inning, but six more walks in the bottom of frame number two allowed five more Lady Panthers to cross home plate, bestowing a 20-4 lead for the hosts. Armstrong added two runs in the top of the third inning, but it wasn’t enough as the game ended via the slaughter rule.

After the contest, Lady Panther head coach Lauren Wood commented about her players learning and taking advantage of game situations early on in the season.

“We are a very young team and we want to be aggressive on the bases,” she said. “We have to keep practicing and learn how to get out and get a lead.

“We’re still making some errors in the field because we are rushing,” the head coach continued. “The new players on the team are learning and we have seen a lot of improvement early on in the season.”

Charles City’s Lady Panthers remain undefeated, posting a record of 2-0.