Riley Cannon reaches out to grab the throw at first base.
Robert P. Taylor|Sampson Independent
Rocky Mount Academy softball grabs 11-7 win over Harrells
Breelyn Peed lets a pitch go from the mound.
Robert P. Taylor|Sampson Independent
Harrells’ catcher, Mary Willow Rumbold, traps the ball on the ground to keep it from getting by her.
Robert P. Taylor|Sampson Independent
After winning their first game, the Lady Crusaders dropped two straight on the softball field going into Thursday’s game when they hosted Rocky Mount Academy. The Lady Eagles were looking to add another loss to the streak, and after a slugfest between the two squads, they were successful, taking the 11-7 win over Harrells.
Almost immediately, the Eagles went to work imposing their will on Harrells. With senior Regan Cannon on the mound, the first batter took just the fourth pitch to left field for a single. A pop out came next, and after that, three straight hits for the Eagles landed them three runs: a double, single, and triple. An error from Izzy Bradshaw at second sent another Eagle across home, and Anna Williams committed one in left field to move two more Rocky Mount runners into scoring position. Regan Cannon worked her way out of the inning with a strike out and a pop out, but with a walk in between.
Makenzie Jackson returned fire for the Crusaders in the bottom of the first, sending the third pitch into centerfield for the lead-off triple. Bradshaw went down swinging, but Breelyn Peed singled to score Jackson, and Riley Cannon sent a single to left to put Peed on third. An error, via a Mary Willow Rumbold grounder, scored Peed, making it a 4-2 Rocky Mount lead with just one out in the bottom of the first. Regan Cannon and Christina Barnhill both went down swinging to end the inning.
With an uneventful top of the second, save for a single and an error, the Eagles didn’t progress their lead further. To start the bottom of the inning, Amory Kate Merritt struck out, but Williams, Jackson, and Bradshaw all made it to base — Williams on an error, Jackson on a single, and Bradshaw on a walk. Peed was next to the plate with the bases loaded, and Williams scored on a passed ball, to cut the lead down to one. Peed eventually walked, loading the bases once more, but Jackson crossed the plate on another passed ball during Riley Cannon’s at-bat to tie things up. Cannon struck out, Rumbold walked, and Regan Cannon grounded out to end the second with the 4-4 tie.
The Eagles broke things open once more when Peed — who was on the mound at this point — gave up a two-run shot to left field, moving the score to 6-4 in favor of Rocky Mount. The Crusaders didn’t do much to fix this, going three-up-three-down for their half of the third.
A passed ball in the top of the fourth scored another Eagle, giving them the 7-4 lead over the hosts. And, like the third, the Crusaders went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the fourth to keep the score the same.
Rocky Mount added another run in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly, doubling up Harrells’ score at 8-4. But, as had happened in the last two innings, the Crusaders were sent down in order to finish the fifth.
That would also be the story in the bottom of the sixth, and nothing much happened in the top of the inning for Rocky Mount besides a single and a double.
The Eagles poured on three more runs in the top of the seventh to solidify their lead, scoring one on an error and two on a triple. Looking to make a huge comeback, Jackson doubled on the second pitch of the bottom of the seventh to get herself into scoring position. Bradshaw followed this with a single to right, advancing Jackson to third. Jackson eventually scored during Peed’s at-bat to make it an 11-5 ball game, and Peed eventually walked. Riley Cannon struck out swinging with Bradshaw at third and Peed at second. A single from Rumbold scored both Peed and Bradshaw, cutting it now to an 11-7 lead for the visiting Eagles. The comeback would halt as Regan Cannon and Barnhill both struck out to end the game.
Regan Cannon tossed one inning, allowing three earned runs on four hits, while adding a walk and a strikeout. Breelyn Peed came in as relief, throwing for three innings and giving up three runs with none being earned on three hits. She struck out six. Makenzie Jackson was the Crusaders’ closer, throwing another three, giving up four runs on five hits, with just one being earned. She also gave up a walk and struck out one batter.
Jackson was also the Crusaders’ best hitting, going 3-for-4, scoring three runs and striking out just once. Rumbold had three RBIs and Peed had one.
The Lady Crusaders fell to 1-3 with the loss. They will travel to Wilmington Christian Academy on Monday, followed by a road trip to Halifax Academy on Tuesday and Faith Christian on Friday.