Madison Cash’s base hit to left center with one out in the bottom of the 13th inning scored Carmon Bradley with the winning run as Riverheads edged James River, 4-3, Monday in Springwood.
This contest was the completion of a game suspended on March 21 at Riverheads after 10 innings because of darkness with the score tied 3-3.
The win by the Gladiators broke a 10-game winning streak by the Knights and ruined a stellar pitching effort by Olivia Simmons. The combined stats from March and May showed Simmons pitching all 13 innings, allowing only six hits and two earned runs. She struck out 21 hitters and walked just one.
Lakota Lucado led James River with three hits while Hollie Hill and Erin Peery had two hits each. The Knights had 12 hits and stranded nine base runners.
In the second game Riverheads took advantage of five James River errors to score seven unearned in an 8-0 romp over the Knights. Emily Walters limited the home team to only four hits in pitching a complete game shutout. The visitors got 10 hits off of the combination of Olivia and Kaitlin Simmons.
James River fell to 13-3 with the two out of conference defeats and it followed a walk-off win over Glenvar in Springwood last week.
With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Hollie Hill walked with one out. Erin Peery then singled to right before Josey Lackey sliced the first pitch down the right field line to win the game.
Peery led the Knights with three hits and Lackey and Cameron Hildebrand had two each. This trio of sophomores accounted for three RBIs as well. James River had nine hits and left 10 runners on base.
Olivia Simmons struggled with her control on the windy evening, walking five batters with just two strikeouts but she only allowed five hits and was the winning pitcher.
“This was a conference game so it was very important to both teams,” said River coach Steve Austin. “I knew that Glenvar would be hard to beat because of their young talent and their coaching staff. I respect their staff a great deal because they develop players and their team always improves as the season progresses.”
The Knights are 3-0 in conference play, and 7-0 in district play. This week they’re scheduled to play at home against Floyd County on Tuesday and Auburn on Friday in a couple of Three Rivers District games.
