Lady Cyclones level Wayne Country Day
By Jimmy Lewis Staff Writer
The Community Christian School softball team had ample opportunity to fall into bad habits during Monday's non-conference game with Wayne Country Day.
Facing a quartet of Lady Charger pitchers - all with extreme difficulty in finding the strike zone - the CCS bats didn't fall victim to a strikeout and drew a whopping 20 walks off Wayne Country Day's ineffectiveness in the pitching circle.
And although the 24-1, five-inning win featured only nine hits from CCS, there were moments of power when Wayne Country Day finally brought a ball into the strike zone.
Senior Kristen Tyler slugged her sixth home run of the season and added a ground-rule double in the second inning, while classmate Allison Bartlett was 3 for 3 with a first-inning triple.
Indeed, the carnage would have been worse if CCS head coach Ronnie Wells didn't opt to have his base runners leave early for five of the final six outs.
"It's the thing to do," Wells said of stepping off the bases in a rout. "I would hope people would do it for me too."
The 1-A Carolina Christian Conference Lady Cyclones snapped a three-game losing streak in improving to 3-6 overall. Wayne Country Day, a 1-A member of the 1-A/2-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference, dropped to 1-5.
Monday's game wasn't the first time that WCD pitching struggled to limit the free passes against a Wilson opponent. In a 16-4, five-inning loss to Wilson Christian on Friday, Wayne Country Day doled out 15 walks to the Wilson Christian bats.
With the game contested on the WCA diamond, that gave Wells ample opportunity for an advanced scouting report.
"That's what we talked about, getting into bad habits," Wells reviewed. "I went and watched some of the Wilson Christian game and (WCA) were moving all in the box and they were hitting balls just to hit some balls. I don't want to get into that habit, especially when you're just trying to learn fundamentals anyway with a bunch of seventh- and eighth-graders. We don't need to develop bad habits."
After junior right-hander Addison Lamm gave up an unearned run in the top of the first, the CCS bats quickly seized control. Walks to freshman Sarah Pierce and Tyler gave way to a bases-clearing triple to left field from Bartlett that brought home two runs. Bartlett later scored on a wild pitch from losing pitcher Kate Thompson.
In addition to the 20 walks, Wayne Country Day pitching hit six CCS batters. There were numerous wild pitches in the first two innings, and more pitches could have been scored as such if Lady Cyclone base runners took the extra base over the last two innings.
The second inning saw CCS plate 15 runs while marching 20 batters to the plate. Tyler ripped her ground-rule double to score two runs, and in her next trip to the plate, took a pitch from reliever Kate Strickland over the fence in right center for a two-run homer.
"That home run I hit was a really high ball," Tyler reviewed. "But sometimes it's good for our girls. We have a younger team, and they got game experience. We play a lot of teams that are a lot better than us, so it's good to be on the other end of the table every now and then!"
Also in the inning, Lamm bounced into a fielder's choice to score a run, with junior Abigale Bass lashing an RBI single into left field.
Lamm allowed only two hits, an infield single to Katie Strickland in the first and a two-out single to Sarah Crooks in the fourth. She struck out six and walked one.
Thompson took the loss for Wayne Country Day, lasting two innings and allowing nine runs on just two hits. Thompson was pulled after walking seventh grader Gracie Taylor and senior Kasey Pittman to start the second inning. She was ushered back into the circle for the third inning and faced 10 CCS batters.
Every Lady Cyclone saw action in at least one plate appearance, with Bartlett's three-hit showing pacing CCS. Tyler, Pierce and Lamm each logged two hits for the Lady Cyclones.
CCS knows it will face more formidable pitching Friday as it ventures to another non-conference opponent in Rocky Mount Academy. With only four teams playing softball in the Carolina Christian Conference this season - CCS, Cape Fear Christian, Sanford Lee Christian and Fayetteville Northwood Temple - the Lady Cyclones have completed their regular-season league schedule with a 2-1 record. Wells is fully aware that every win against a 1-A program is crucial as CCS tries to build a case for inclusion in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association postseason.
"We need them to see if we can't qualify for the state," he said.
jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter: @JimmyLewisWT
Score by innings:
Wayne Country Day 100 00 - 1
CCS 3(15)4 2x - 24
WP-Addison Lamm (2-2) 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO LP-Kate Thompson 2 IP, 2 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 10 BB, 0 SO
LEADING HITTERS - Wayne Country Day: Sarah Crooks 1-2, Katie Strickland 1-3; CCS: Allison Bartlett 3-3, 3B, 3 RBI, Kristen Tyler 2-2, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, Kirsten Pierce 2-3, Addison Lamm 2-3, 2 RBI.
This post was edited on 4/14 5:36 AM by eastern
By Jimmy Lewis Staff Writer
The Community Christian School softball team had ample opportunity to fall into bad habits during Monday's non-conference game with Wayne Country Day.
Facing a quartet of Lady Charger pitchers - all with extreme difficulty in finding the strike zone - the CCS bats didn't fall victim to a strikeout and drew a whopping 20 walks off Wayne Country Day's ineffectiveness in the pitching circle.
And although the 24-1, five-inning win featured only nine hits from CCS, there were moments of power when Wayne Country Day finally brought a ball into the strike zone.
Senior Kristen Tyler slugged her sixth home run of the season and added a ground-rule double in the second inning, while classmate Allison Bartlett was 3 for 3 with a first-inning triple.
Indeed, the carnage would have been worse if CCS head coach Ronnie Wells didn't opt to have his base runners leave early for five of the final six outs.
"It's the thing to do," Wells said of stepping off the bases in a rout. "I would hope people would do it for me too."
The 1-A Carolina Christian Conference Lady Cyclones snapped a three-game losing streak in improving to 3-6 overall. Wayne Country Day, a 1-A member of the 1-A/2-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference, dropped to 1-5.
Monday's game wasn't the first time that WCD pitching struggled to limit the free passes against a Wilson opponent. In a 16-4, five-inning loss to Wilson Christian on Friday, Wayne Country Day doled out 15 walks to the Wilson Christian bats.
With the game contested on the WCA diamond, that gave Wells ample opportunity for an advanced scouting report.
"That's what we talked about, getting into bad habits," Wells reviewed. "I went and watched some of the Wilson Christian game and (WCA) were moving all in the box and they were hitting balls just to hit some balls. I don't want to get into that habit, especially when you're just trying to learn fundamentals anyway with a bunch of seventh- and eighth-graders. We don't need to develop bad habits."
After junior right-hander Addison Lamm gave up an unearned run in the top of the first, the CCS bats quickly seized control. Walks to freshman Sarah Pierce and Tyler gave way to a bases-clearing triple to left field from Bartlett that brought home two runs. Bartlett later scored on a wild pitch from losing pitcher Kate Thompson.
In addition to the 20 walks, Wayne Country Day pitching hit six CCS batters. There were numerous wild pitches in the first two innings, and more pitches could have been scored as such if Lady Cyclone base runners took the extra base over the last two innings.
The second inning saw CCS plate 15 runs while marching 20 batters to the plate. Tyler ripped her ground-rule double to score two runs, and in her next trip to the plate, took a pitch from reliever Kate Strickland over the fence in right center for a two-run homer.
"That home run I hit was a really high ball," Tyler reviewed. "But sometimes it's good for our girls. We have a younger team, and they got game experience. We play a lot of teams that are a lot better than us, so it's good to be on the other end of the table every now and then!"
Also in the inning, Lamm bounced into a fielder's choice to score a run, with junior Abigale Bass lashing an RBI single into left field.
Lamm allowed only two hits, an infield single to Katie Strickland in the first and a two-out single to Sarah Crooks in the fourth. She struck out six and walked one.
Thompson took the loss for Wayne Country Day, lasting two innings and allowing nine runs on just two hits. Thompson was pulled after walking seventh grader Gracie Taylor and senior Kasey Pittman to start the second inning. She was ushered back into the circle for the third inning and faced 10 CCS batters.
Every Lady Cyclone saw action in at least one plate appearance, with Bartlett's three-hit showing pacing CCS. Tyler, Pierce and Lamm each logged two hits for the Lady Cyclones.
CCS knows it will face more formidable pitching Friday as it ventures to another non-conference opponent in Rocky Mount Academy. With only four teams playing softball in the Carolina Christian Conference this season - CCS, Cape Fear Christian, Sanford Lee Christian and Fayetteville Northwood Temple - the Lady Cyclones have completed their regular-season league schedule with a 2-1 record. Wells is fully aware that every win against a 1-A program is crucial as CCS tries to build a case for inclusion in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association postseason.
"We need them to see if we can't qualify for the state," he said.
jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter: @JimmyLewisWT
Score by innings:
Wayne Country Day 100 00 - 1
CCS 3(15)4 2x - 24
WP-Addison Lamm (2-2) 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO LP-Kate Thompson 2 IP, 2 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 10 BB, 0 SO
LEADING HITTERS - Wayne Country Day: Sarah Crooks 1-2, Katie Strickland 1-3; CCS: Allison Bartlett 3-3, 3B, 3 RBI, Kristen Tyler 2-2, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, Kirsten Pierce 2-3, Addison Lamm 2-3, 2 RBI.
This post was edited on 4/14 5:36 AM by eastern
