By By EUGENE L. TINKLEPAUGH, Staff Writer
There was music in the streets downtown Friday night, but Pam Pack bruiser Charity Watson was making music of her own at the Washington High School’s softball field, zinging pitches past beleaguered bats.
Washington with Watson at the helm cruised past the West Craven Eagles 11-0 in four-and-a-half innings. The game was called because of the 10-0 mercy rule.
But for a bunt in the third inning, the Pam Pack would have blanked the Eagles. Watson had another stellar pitching performance, striking out eight batters. She pitched a one-hitter in Friday’s win.
Solid defense kept the Eagles scoreless.
In the fourth inning, the Eagles’ Marisa Adams got a good piece of Watson’s pitch, sending the ball out to center field. Outfielder Meredith Duke was able to get under the fly ball and make the catch.
And in the infield, the Pam Pack made good decisions to keep the Eagles grounded.
In the second inning, first baseman Samantha Mobley produced two consecutive play-stoppers. First she caught a muffed infield hit for an out, then made a quick decision to cover first, instead of chasing down a grounder that bounded between her and second baseman Kayla Spain.
Spain scooped up the grounder and got it to first to give the Eagles their second out of the inning.
Of the five Eagle innings, four saw three batters up, three down.
The Pam Pack (10-1, 8-1) dominated offensively as well, scoring nine of its 11 runs in the final two innings.
The first two runs came in the opening inning, from the first two batters.
Leading off, Mobley walked on to first, and Meredith Duke singled.
The Pack’s first out would come from a powerful fly ball to left field off the bat of Taylor Rogers.
Marrissa Fucito was hit by a pitch to load up the bases.
Watson’s fly ball was caught by the Eagles’ shortstop, who tried to convert the play into two outs by tossing it to third where Mobley had taken a lead off base.
The ball was overthrown, and Mobley turned the Eagle error into the Pack’s first score.
Duke would make it home on the next play off of Hayley Stowe’s hit ball that fell from the sky and landed between the Eagles’ shortstop and left fielder.
The Eagles defense would face a bases-loaded situation in the second inning, but avoided giving up more runs with pretty pitching by Jo-lynn Stevenson.
The Eagles pitcher made her returning start after a serious injury.
Stevenson struck out Duke and Rogers consecutively, and Fucito’s line drive would be caught by the Eagles’ shortstop, keeping it anybody’s ball game heading into the third inning.
The Pack’s 2-0 lead received a dramatic boost in the third, when five Washington batters scored.
Spain brought in the first score of the inning with her line drive that skimmed the top of the third baseman’s glove.
The next two scores were thanks to Davey Ann Burbage, who grounded it past third. Lauren Allen got home after Mobley’s sacrifice fly, and Burbage came in off Duke’s bunt.
Burbage made good on all three of her at-bats, going 3-3 for the night and scoring twice.
In the fourth and final offensive inning for Washington, batters worked on switch hitting and found four runs in the process, mostly off base running and stealing, which kept Pack runners in scoring positions.
The Pam Pack play J.H. Rose at home Tuesday. It will be their second game against the Rampants. Washington has six more games to play in the regular season.
West Craven 000 000 0 — 0 1 5
Washington 205 400 0 — 11 9 0
WP: Charity Watson; LP: Jo-lynn Stevenson
Hitters: WC — Lauren Geis 1-2; W — Samantha Mobley 1-3 (run), Meredith Duke 3-4 (2 RBIs, run), Marrissa Fucito 1-3, Kayla Spain 1-2 (RBI, 2 runs), Lauren Allen 1-1 (RBI, 2 runs), Davey Ann Burbage 3-3 (RBI, 2 runs).