Lady Trojans capitalize on 14-hit attack, Bruton errors to gain first softball win

New Kent shortstop Taylor Goode fires toward first from her knees after making a diving stop on a third inning ground ball. Her throw missed the mark but mattered little since Bruton did not score during the frame.

Alan Chamberlain photo

New Kent’s Lady Trojans jumped on top in the early going and never trailed on their way to capturing their first victory of the young softball season. Through four frames, the hosts built a 6-0 lead over Bruton’s Panthers. They then added six additional late runs to post a 12-3 triumph, reversing a three-game losing skid.

“It definitely feels good to get that first win under our belts,” Lady Trojan coach Maria Bates said after Tuesday’s contest. “This will be a big confidence booster for the girls.”

New Kent turned Bruton miscues into a three-run first inning. Panther pitcher Lauren Smith bounced a pitch off leadoff hitter Taylor Goode to get matters started. Taylor Yates followed with a fly ball to center that was dropped, and a subsequent throwing error on the play placed runners at second and third.

Haley Cleaver’s grounder to a deep spot in the infield enabled Goode to score the first run. Yates and Cleaver then raced home on Haley Hyndshaw’s looping single into shallow center.

Cleaver reached on an error to open the New Kent third, took third on Hyndshaw’s double down the left field line, and scored her team’s fourth run on Kamryn Belvin’s line out in right. In the next frame, Cleaver doubled to the fence in left to drive in two more runs.

Bruton got three back in the fifth, but the hosts made it a 7-3 contest after loading the bases in the bottom of the frame. Then during a six-hit surge in the sixth, Alex Peace and Goode both doubled in a pair of runs, and Yates drove in another with a single to account for the final margin.

“We played a sound defensive game,” Bates said. “We actually capitalized on their mistakes instead of leaving runners on base.”

New Kent stroked a total of 14 hits. Lady Trojan pitcher Abigail Young, meanwhile, scattered six hits while striking out five in gaining the win. She ran into a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, giving way to Hyndshaw who put out the fire in relief.