Bailey Taylor (left), Cali Swearingen and Alyssa Atkerson celebrate their final home game on senior night.
WINNSBORO- The Richard Winn lady Eagles had a rocky offensive outing on Thursday,senior night, when Wardlaw Academy came into town. The Patriots notched a 2-0 win thanks in large part to a devastating pitching performance courtesy of junior pitcher Savannah Rodgers.
Rodgers was dealing on the mound all seven innings and racked up 13 strike-outs compared to only two base hits. Eagles starter Bailey Taylor had a solid outing with a complete game performance, two earned runs, five strikeouts but Richard Winn did give up seven hits, including a triple.
The dominant pitching became evident early. Wardlaw retired Richard Winn’ side of the first with three consecutive strikeouts and the Patriots only base-runner in the first reached due to an error, but her teammates were unable to get her in for a score.
Alyssa Atkerson, a senior, led of the second with a single, that turned out to be the last hit that she would tally at the Richard Winn softball field. Rodgers got the next three Eagle hitters in relatively easy fashion.
Wardlaw applied some pressure to Richard Winn in the second when Abbie Spurlock clocked in a single and Ashlyn Yount kept Spurlock moving with a base-hit of her own, but the momentum was brought to a halt after a strike-out and pop-fly ended the inning.
After the Atkerson hit in the second, the Eagles bat his a cold-patch that they would not be able to shake. Richard Winn down in order in the third, fourth, fifth and seventh inning, and their only hit during that span was a Sallie Costenbader single in the sixth.
The Patriots offense was not a great deal better, but it only required one solid inning for them to pull-out a win, and that inning was the fourth. Annalee Rodgers walked to start the fourth and it was not long before an Abbie Spurlock triple brought her all the way around from first, to give Wardlaw a 1-0 lead.
Spurlock was rewarded for her triple when she scored on another Ashlyn Yount single. Bailey Taylor got the next two batters to prevent further damage, but the 2-0 lead proved to be insurmountable for the Eagles.
Seniors Bailey Taylor, Alyssa Atkerson and Cali Swearingen were honored after the game. Richard Winn will be in playoff action at the SCISA State Tournament on May 12-13.
RWA: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
WA: 0-0-0-2-0-0-0-2
Hitting: 1B- Alyssa Atkerson, Sallie Costenbader (RWA); Davis Walsh (2), Kylie Walsh, Abbie Spurlock, Ashlyn Yount (2) (WA). 3B- Abbie Spurlock (WA).
Pitching: WP- Savannah Rodgers, LP- Bailey Taylor.
