After jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the second inning, Radford had to rally late to escape with a 13-10 victory over James River in an eight-inning softball game Monday in Springwood.
After scoring two runs in the seventh inning on a double error to tie the game at 10-10, the Bobcats erupted for three runs in the eighth to steal back the victory.
Radford had five of their 11 hits in the seven-run second inning and two Knight errors led to five of the runs being unearned. Errors were a problem for the home squad for the entire game as seven miscues led to eight of the 13 runs being unearned.
The Knights began clawing back in the third inning, scoring three runs on RBI singles by Payton Kreklow, Evie Melvin, and Madison Brogan to cut the lead to 7-3. Subsequent three-run innings in the fourth and fifth pushed River into a two-run lead at 9-7. RBI singles by Aly McCullough and Melvin, and an RBI by Brogan highlighted the fourth inning burst. In the fifth, Lakota Lucado had an RBI triple, Melvin another RBI single and Erin Perry an RBI double.
After the Bobcats pushed across a run in the sixth to trim the lead to 9-8, the Knights got a sacrifice fly from Lacey Lucado to push the lead back to two runs heading into the ill-fated seventh inning.
Melvin led the Knights with three hits and three RBIs and Lakota Lucado had two hits, including a triple, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Brogan had two hits and two RBIs. The Knights banged out 11 total base knocks.
With the loss, James River fell to 5-6 on the season, 2-2 in Three Rivers District play.
“We did not play well enough to win the game, but I am extremely proud of how our team fought back from seven runs down to take the lead,” said River coach Steve Austin. “It would have been easy to not respond like we did.”
The loss followed an 11-3 win over Carroll County last week in Hillsville. Cameron Hildebrand led the Knights by going four-for-four with a walk, four runs scored, and four RBIs. Payton Kreklow had two hits and two RBIs. Lacey Lucado and Ainsley Simmons also had two hits each as River pounded out 13 hits.
Simmons pitched a three-hitter for the Knights as she struck out five and walked two. She also hit one batter in a 94-pitch effort.
The Knights were at Glenvar Tuesday, but results were too late for publication. On Friday they travel to Giles for their third district game of the week.
“This has been a very trying season for our team but I still believe that we can be a factor down the stretch,” said Austin. “A lot of things have gone against us but if we keep competing, some breaks will fall our way.”
