Hannah Smith awaits the pitch from first during game 1 on Friday. | Britney Poland
SUMTER- The Richard Winn Lady Eagles made their way to Sumter last weekend for the annual SCISA-A State Softball Tournament and were eliminated on day one of the two-day affair. First, the Eagles did battle with St. John’s Christian, and the Lady Cavaliers bested RWA 13-3.
St. John’s wasted no time at bat. In the first inning, they ran up a 4-0 lead that was sparked by a two-RBI double for the Raiders. The Cavs pushed their other first inning runs across the plate on a sac-bunt and perfectly placed fielder’s choice.
The Eagles continued to struggle through the second inning and were not able to capitalize on a couple of early base-hits. The Cavs turned up the pressure in the second inning. Claire Gilmore blasted a three-run home run to extend the lead to 7-0.
A walk and a two-RBI single later in the inning left the Eagles staring down the wrong end of a double digit lead after only two innings. Gilmore struck again for the Cavs in the bottom of the third, blasting another home run to lead off St. Johns half of the third. They singled home another run with two outs left in the inning.
The Eagles pushed across three runs in the top of the fifth inning to avoid the five-inning mercy rule, but the Cavs plated another run in the bottom of the sixth to end the game.
Richard Winn was knocked off after another 13-3 loss in game two against Wardlaw Academy. The Cavs were eliminated later in the tournament by Holly Hill.