The James River softball team has played just two games in the first two weeks of the spring sports season and will be off all this week for spring break. The good news is, River is 2-0.
The Knights were scheduled to host the “James River Bash” at the Botetourt Sports Complex last Saturday, which would have been two more games. However, with rain in the forecast the Bash was cancelled on Friday and will not be made up. Instead, River will look to add two more games sometime later this season.
The Knights last played on Tuesday, March 19, when they took a hard-fought 6-5 win at Northside. River out-hit the host Vikings, 10-3, and withstood a late inning rally to hold on for the win.
“I’m proud of our performance and in how we found a way to win,” said River coach Steve Austin. “This was our second 50-50 game where we could have lost as easily as we could have won. We did just enough to pull it out once again.”
River’s Ella Hutchens led off a two-run second inning with a single and was sacrificed to second by Makayla Petty. Freshman Kaylee Harlow’s two-out single plated the Knights’ first run. Abbie Wilson followed with an RBI single, scoring Harlow,who had moved to second on the previous throw to the plate.
In the fifth inning, leading 2-1, James River used singles by Cloey Joynes, Hutchens, Petty, Wilson, and Sydney Breeding, and a walk to Caitlyn Downey, to score four runs.
Northside took advantage of some late game walks and hit batters, along with one hit, to pull to within a run at 6-5. However, River pitcher Ripley Barry put the win in the book with a three-up, three-down bottom of the seventh on only five pitches. An outstanding over-the-shoulder catch by second baseman Keira Crawford aided in the quick last frame.
Breeding, Joynes, Hutchens and Wilson had two hits apiece. Barry pitched a complete game, allowing only three hits. The Knights committed just one error for the second straight game in improving to 2-0.
The Knights return from spring break next Tuesday, April 2, with a game against Alleghany at the Jackson River Sports Complex.
“This was only our second game so we’re just getting started,” said Austin. “We’ll continue to evaluate different line ups to try to find the best options we have as the season progresses. Not only do we have eight new varsity kids, each of our four returning starters are playing a different position this year.”
