Not only did the Lady Eagles’ hitting come alive, the pitching staff threw a three-inning perfect game with eight of the nine batters faced going down by strikeout. The only batter to put the ball in play for the Villains popped out.
As the lead was quickly building, Coach Glenn Craddock said he wanted to give several pitchers a chance to pitch an inning and stay fresh. He pulled starter Chelsea Craddock after two innings. She struck out five. Then Elise Austin pitched the third and struck out the side.
Craddock said he would have given the other pitchers a go if the game had continued, but the 15-0 lead cut the game short.
Since Chelsea pitched so little Tuesday, the coach said he would start her again today at West Forsyth.
Among the many good hitting performances were Karmen Gardner and Brittany Myers.
Gardner walked twice and hit a three-run homer. The petite second baseman hammered a ball against a gusting wind that cleared the fence.
Myers also walked and hit a home run.
Craddock said he saw the ball fly off the bat high and deep, but figured the wind would blow the high ball back into play. He was telling the runner on third to tag up when the ball not only left the park, it went over the scoreboard in left center.
In addition to her relief pitching, Austin went 3-3 with two singles, a double and three RBIs.
“We need one like this every once in a while,” said Craddock. The Eagles also routed the Bears last week.
The game today will be the Eagles’ second look at West Forsyth. The two teams scrimmaged before the season.
The coach noted that both teams had players transitioning from basketball to softball, and he told his team that the opponent could look very different from the one they defeated last month.
On Friday, the Lady Eagles will host North Surry. That game will be the Pink in the Park night. Proceeds from T-shirts, wings and French fries sold at the game will go to Relay for Life and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. T-shirts, with the words “Strike Out Cancer,” are $10; add the name of a cancer patient or victim for $5.
Local cancer survivors will be recognized before the varsity game.
The baseball team will have its own Pink in the Park game this afternoon against North Wilkes.
Both events start with the junior varsity game at 4:30 p.m. Varsity games are about half an hour after the finish of the JV game.
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