Northside baseball, softball thump Lejeune
Published 1:34 pm Wednesday, March 25, 2015
PINETOWN — The Lady Panthers preserved their undefeated record in dominant fashion Tuesday afternoon, defeating conference foe Lejeune, 27-0, while the Northside baseball team put an end to a three-game losing streak with a 10-0 shutout of the Devil Pups.
For the softball team, sophomore Rachel Lang pitched three innings of one-hit softball, retiring nine of the 10 batters she faced, striking out eight, while Kelsey Lang picked up two strikeouts in two innings in her return from a hand injury.
“I’m proud that she’s coming back strong,” said head coach Riley Youmans. “Shoot, she was throwing the ball harder than she did before she got hurt actually. That’s a big plus as far as our rotation is concerned.”
After posting two runs in the first inning, Northside exploded for 10 runs in the second on singles from from Alex Adams, Taonya Stanley and Emory Smith, along with five walks and a triple down the left-field line by Mariah Stanley that scored two.
The barrage would continue in the third inning. Catcher Kendall Alligood picked up a pair of doubles in the inning, while Kelsey Lang, Rachel Lang (2), Quortasia Clark, Whitney Cromwell and Brooklyn Hudnell all recorded hits. But the blast of the contest came off the bat of Mackensi Swain, who stroked a fastball over the centerfield wall.
“We got the whole roster in and I hate (running up the score), but you have to get them in when you can. They were making plays and scoring runs too.”
Keith Boyd’s Panthers also had a big day with the bats, scoring nine runs in the first two innings.
Junior Zach Woolard got the call and pitched four innings, striking out three and allowing a total of three base runners (two hits, one walk), earning the win. Senior Adam Cahoon closed the game out in the fourth, picking up one strikeout in the process.
Despite Northside recording just four hits, Lejeune administered nine walks and hit three batters — 12 base runners that proved to ultimately be the difference.
With the win, Northside improves to 2-5 (1-2 CPC), as both the baseball and softball teams will travel to Robersonville on Friday for a rematch with South Creek.