LUMBERTON – West Bladen exploded for ten runs in the third inning en route to a 16-4 victory over Red Springs Monday in the Robeson County Slugfest Softball Tournament.
Red Springs grabbed a 2-0 first-inning lead on 2 infield hits, a fielder’s choice and Omaryah McMillian’s 2-run single.
Senior Abby Dawson beat out an infield hit in the bottom of the first, stole second, advanced on a passed ball and scored on junior Carley Dawson’s fielder’s choice to trim the Lady Red Devil lead to 2-1.
With one out in the West Bladen third, sophmore Kyla Reed, sophmore Alara Cashwell, Carley Dawson, sophmore Jordan Benson, senior Brittney Landreth and senior Madison Collins drew consecutive walks.
Reed and Cashwell dashed home on wild pitches. Collins’ walk forced home Carley Dawson. Freshman Shelby Pharr knocked in Benson and Landreth with a single to right. Freshman Alyssa Suggs belted a single to centerfield.
Abby Dawson and Kyla Reed drew walks with Reed’s free pass forcing home Pharr. Suggs dashed home on a wild pitch, and Cashwell lined a single to right that scored Landreth and Reed. Cashwell stole third and scored on a wild pitch for an 11-2 West Bladen lead.
Walks to Landreth, Collins, Suggs and Reed forced home Landreth in the Lady Knight fourth. Natalie Ludlum, the courtesy runner for Collins, Suggs and Reed all raced home on wild pitches. Cashwell walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch to boost the lead to 16-2.
Jalexis Bratcher hammered an inside-the-park home run in the Red Springs fifth, and an error, a wild pitch and Tristen Locklear’s bloop single made the final margin 16-4.
Pharr batted 2-3 with 2 runs batted in and a run scored led the Lady Knight hitters. Suggs, Collins, Abby Dawson and Cashwell connected for one hit each. Reed and Cashwell drove in 2 runs each. Collins and Carley Dawson had one rbi each.
Reed and Cashwell scored 3 runs each. Abby Dawson, Landreth and Suggs scored 2 runs each, and Carley Dawson, Benson and Ludlum scored one run each.
The Red Springs pitchers walked 17 batters in the game. “We took advantage of some walks and didn’t swing at anything crazy,” said Lady Knight Coach Pam Stephens. “We did some good things today.”
Collins pitched the five-inning complete game, allowed 4 runs – one earned – on 5 hits and no walks while striking out one.
West Bladen, now 7-6, will play Fairmont at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the tourney’s fifth-place game.
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