APA wins softball season opener Wednesday
It didn’t look like Arendell Parrott had gone nearly a year without games.
In an all-Patriots showdown, APA defeated Freedom Christian 12-2 in six innings Wednesday. APA hadn’t played since an 11-1 victory over Harrells Christian on March 11, 2020 when COVID-19 halted a promising season. APA started 3-1 before all softball seasons were cancelled across the state, and the team seemed to pick up where it left off.
APA dropped the season opener last year, then won its next three by a combined 40-3 before the season was cancelled.
“To have the opportunity to come out and play, then get a win is huge,” APA coach Kristin White said. “With the weather, we’ve only had two or three practices, and we just got three players back this week with our basketball team going deep in the playoffs. I’m really proud of the team’s efforts — Laura Grace (Wade) was phenomenal on the mound, our hitting was good from top to bottom, and I couldn’t ask for anything more, especially in the first game of the season.”
APA started scoring in the bottom of the second, as Sydney Myers drew a bases-loaded walk. Two batters later, Isabel Faulkner sent a ball to deep leftfield for a two-out, 3-run triple to put APA ahead 4-0.
“All we really did was hit inside,” Faulkner said. “We had a lot of practice and just kept going.”
It was all the support Wade needed, as she struck out 13 batters while allowing just three hits.
“It felt good to be out there,” Wade said. “I was definitely a little nervous, but proud.”
APA scored a run in the third on an error, then RBI singles from Katelyn Corbett and Elizabeth Norris in the fourth made it 7-0. Freedom Christian got a run in the top of the fifth on an RBI double from Rylan Miller, but APA countered in the bottom of the frame with a run-scoring single from Faulkner and a Wade RBI double.
Madi Norman scored in the top of the sixth on a wild pitch to close Freedom Christian’s deficit to 9-2, but in the bottom of the frame, APA scored on an error before back-to-back RBI singles from Mary Pat Ferebee and Faulkner ended the game under the 10-run rule.
APA hosts Pungo Christian Thursday at 4 p.m.
It didn’t look like Arendell Parrott had gone nearly a year without games.
In an all-Patriots showdown, APA defeated Freedom Christian 12-2 in six innings Wednesday. APA hadn’t played since an 11-1 victory over Harrells Christian on March 11, 2020 when COVID-19 halted a promising season. APA started 3-1 before all softball seasons were cancelled across the state, and the team seemed to pick up where it left off.
APA dropped the season opener last year, then won its next three by a combined 40-3 before the season was cancelled.
“To have the opportunity to come out and play, then get a win is huge,” APA coach Kristin White said. “With the weather, we’ve only had two or three practices, and we just got three players back this week with our basketball team going deep in the playoffs. I’m really proud of the team’s efforts — Laura Grace (Wade) was phenomenal on the mound, our hitting was good from top to bottom, and I couldn’t ask for anything more, especially in the first game of the season.”
APA started scoring in the bottom of the second, as Sydney Myers drew a bases-loaded walk. Two batters later, Isabel Faulkner sent a ball to deep leftfield for a two-out, 3-run triple to put APA ahead 4-0.
“All we really did was hit inside,” Faulkner said. “We had a lot of practice and just kept going.”
It was all the support Wade needed, as she struck out 13 batters while allowing just three hits.
“It felt good to be out there,” Wade said. “I was definitely a little nervous, but proud.”
APA scored a run in the third on an error, then RBI singles from Katelyn Corbett and Elizabeth Norris in the fourth made it 7-0. Freedom Christian got a run in the top of the fifth on an RBI double from Rylan Miller, but APA countered in the bottom of the frame with a run-scoring single from Faulkner and a Wade RBI double.
Madi Norman scored in the top of the sixth on a wild pitch to close Freedom Christian’s deficit to 9-2, but in the bottom of the frame, APA scored on an error before back-to-back RBI singles from Mary Pat Ferebee and Faulkner ended the game under the 10-run rule.
APA hosts Pungo Christian Thursday at 4 p.m.
