The Clinton Lady Dark Horses were in softball action for the second day in a row on Wednesday as they hosted West Bladen in non-conference play. While both teams put the bat on the ball and achieved success in getting runners aboard the bases, it was the Lady Knights that earned the win, 11-0.
That final score is not indicative of how close the majority of the game had been.
West Bladen tallied two runs in the top of the first inning but score stayed parked at 2-0 for the next couple of innings. Meanwhile, the Lady Dark Horses were able to achieve baserunners, and even advanced them into into scoring position, but they just couldn’t find a way to score the runners.
The Lady Knights tacked on one run in the top of the fifth to make it 3-0, but the low-scoring nature of the game was preserved.
That was until the top of the sixth when West Bladen did most of their damage. They Lady Knights capitalized on some strong hitting and, aided by a couple mistakes from the Lady Dark Horses, were able to pump out six runs to take a commanding 9-0 lead.
Again, Clinton had opportunities to answer but they were just unable to cash in.
West Bladen extended their lead to the margin of double digits in the top of the seventh, tallying two more runs to make it 11-0. Then, Clinton had one final golden opportunity to crack the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh when they loaded the bases with no outs, but once more the Lady Knights slammed the door in getting three-up-three-down to end the threat and the game.
“This is the first time we’ve played them and it be a low-scoring game,” said Clinton coach Jennifer Edgerton earlier in the night. “But our batting tonight wasn’t what it has been so far this season.”
Stats from the game were not immediately available.
With the loss, Clinton is now 3-2 on the season. The Lady Dark Horses had entered the week at 3-0, but another loss on Tuesday to conference foe James Kenan also gives them an 0-1 East Central Conference record.
Clinton will be back in action on Friday as they travel to take on county rival Hobbton in another non-conference showdown.
