Photo by Leigh Downey
The James River softball girls were big fans of Carroll County on Tuesday when Carroll played Radford in the last game of the regular season. The Knights needed Carroll to win to make the Region 2C tournament, and the game was yet to be played at press time.
James River and Radford were both hoping to gain the region tournament’s eighth and final spot prior to Tuesday’s Carroll-Radford game. If Carroll won that game James River will make the tournament and travel to top-seeded Appomattox, tentatively scheduled for Thursday. If Radford won on Tuesday, the Bobcats are in and River’s season is over.
River had the numbers on their side. Carroll came into the week at 16-3 while Radford was 7-12. Carroll won the first meeting between the two, but only by a score of 2-1.
The Knights could have clinched a spot with a win last Thursday when they finished the regular season at Carroll but the host Cavaliers edged River, 3-2. Carroll got a two-out, walk-off infield hit in the bottom of the seventh inning to score the winning run.
James River entered the sixth inning with only two hits, being shutout 2-0. The Cavaliers’ Emma Leath was dominating with eight strikeouts to that point.
With two outs in the top of the sixth, Abbie Wilson served a seeing eye single up the middle and Ripley Barry followed with a long home run to centerfield, tying the score at 2-2.
The Knights held the home team scoreless in the sixth before going three up and three down in the top of the seventh, setting up the last at-bat heroics. Addie Greene hit a ground ball in the third base-shortstop hole to score Laynie Jo Leonard with the winning run in the 3-2 victory. Leonard had walked to lead off the final frame. She was sacrificed to second and moved to third on a ground out.
Barry had the only extra base hit for either team. In addition to Wilson’s single, Keira Crawford and Cloey Joynes had singles for James River.
Pitcher Makenna Saville scattered eight singles for the Knights, allowing two earned runs, striking out two, and walking three. Leath scattered four hits for Carroll, striking out 11 and walking none. She broke the school record for strikeouts with her 695th career K early in the game.
James River lost their third straight road game to a top three team in the district by two runs or less, including two by walk-off fashion. Carroll County clinched the unofficial Three Rivers District title with the win.
“Another frustrating loss but another road contest where we competed to the end,” said River coach Steve Austin. “Our pitching kept us in the game and we played solid defense. A key double play and a couple of highlight plays allowed us to stay close.”
James River fell to 6-12 with the loss. As of Tuesday the Knights were pulling for Carroll to keep River’s season alive.
“I feel that we are growing and building a solid foundation for the future,” said Austin. “Hopefully, we are starting to trend back up.”
