BURGAW – Sophomore Charleigh Rivenbark slugged a grand-slam home run that highlighted a 9-run Pender 6th inning and rallied the Lady Patriots to a 14-9 Waccamaw Conference softball victory over East Bladen Monday night.
The Lady Patriots improved to 2-1 in league play and 5-1 overall. East Bladen is now 0-5 in the league and 1-5 overall. The 2 teams are slated to play again Tuesday at 6 p.m. at East Bladen.
With the Lady Eagles up 9-5, two East errors and singles by Olivia Gurganus, Katlynn Iddings and Alyna Rooks produced 2 runs and loaded the bases prior to Rivenbark’s blast over the left field fence that vaulted Pender ahead 11-9. Three more singles and 2 errors plated 3 more runs and pushed the lead to 14-9.
Sophomore Niyah Wooten sparked the Lady Eagle attack with a 2-for-3 game that included a home run, a double, 3 runs batted in and 3 runs scored. Sophomore Jenna Brice batted 2-for-3 with a double and 3 RBIs. Freshman Tatum Allen turned in a 2-for-4 game with 2 RBIs.
Sophomore Gracey Clark batted 2-for-3 with a triple and a run scored. Junior Mollie Tolar was 2-for-4 with a triple and 3 runs scored. Junior Martha Simmons and sophomore Cabria Baldwin added singles, and Baldwin scored a run. Simmons had an RBI.
Brice pitched all 6 innings for East and allowed 14 runs – 5 earned – on 15 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4. Rooks started in the circle for Pender and allowed all 9 East runs on 10 hits in 3.2 innings. Junior Kaylee Woodcock pitched 3.1 innings of 2-hit scoreless relief to pick up the win.
Tolar hammered a double to start the Lady Eagle 1st inning. Wooten reached base on an error, and Brice drilled a double to center field that scored Tolar and Wooten.
Tolar belted a 1-out single in the 3rd inning and scored when Wooten blasted a double to center field. Brice raked a single to left that scored Wooten. Clark pounded a triple to right field, and Allen yanked a single to left for a 5-0 East lead.
Singles by Jamiah Johnson and Rooks plus an error put 2 Pender runs on the board in the 3rd inning, before Rivenbark clubbed a 2-run homer to left that sliced the lead to 5-4.
Baldwin led off the Lady Eagle 4th inning with a single and scooted around to 3rd base on an error. Simmons smoked a single to center that plated Baldwin. Wooten walloped a 2-run home run over the center field fence that grew the lead to 8-4. Brice and Clark drew walks, and Allen knocked in Nevaeh Brown, the courtesy runner for Brice, with a single to left.
Woodcock launched a home run to center field in the Pender 5th inning that narrowed the gap to 9-5.
Rivenbark blasted the 2 home runs, drove in 6 runs and scored twice to lead the Pender hitters. Gurganus batted 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. Woodcock slammed a homer and scored twice. Iddings finished 2-for-5 with 3 RBIs and a run scored. Johnson was 2-for-4 with 3 runs scored and an RBI. Rooks was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, and Kimora McAllister batted 2-for-4 with a run scored.
East Bladen 203 400 0 — 9-12-6
Pender 004 019 x — 14-15-2
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