By Jonathan Shelton
The Patrick County High School Lady Cougar varsity softball team stayed busy this week with three games, winning the first two against George Washington-Danville and Floyd, but falling to Tunstall in the last game.
Playing Danville first, the Cougars routed the Eagles 17-0, with all batters reaching base for the Cougars. Danielle King led the team going three for four with one RBI. Morgan Biggs and Makenzie Watts each went two for three with a double. Watts recorded two RBIs while Biggs had one. Sydney Biggs reached base all four at bats with two singles, hit by a pitch and a walk.
Samantha Helms pitched three innings and got the win with five strikeouts; she allowed two hits. Josie Pendleton pitched the last two innings and tallied six strikeouts.
Traveling to Floyd County High School for the second game, the Cougars also came out victorious 7-6. It was competitive the entire game, with the Buffaloes striking first with one run in the first inning. The Cougars answered back with a run of their own in the second.
The lead constantly changed, with the Buffaloes retaking it in the second with another run, and the Cougars responding with two of their own in the third. The Cougars were held to a scoreless fourth inning and the Buffaloes took the lead once more with two runs.
The Cougars could not be stopped however, adding three runs to take the lead, 6-4. The Buffaloes refused to quit and tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth. The Cougars struck the final blow in the sixth with one more run and held the Buffaloes scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings.
The Cougars hosted the Tunstall Trojans for the last competition of the week. They came up short despite a hot third inning. The Trojans put runs on the board early in the game, hitting a home run with their leadoff batter, adding four runs in the second, and two in the third before Patrick County ever scored.
Down 7-0, the Cougars offense finally came alive and were able to score four runs to close the gap. The Trojans put up another run in a quick fourth inning and continued to pile onto the score with an extra four runs in the seventh to give the themselves some breathing room.
The Cougars were unable to come back and the Trojans left with a 12-4 win.
Hannah Beasley started in the circle for the Cougars and pitched for the first two innings, allowing five runs, six hits, and walking two batters. Beasley also took the loss. Katherine Beckett relieved Beasley in the third inning and did not fare any better.
Morgan Biggs, Makenzie Watts, Danielle King, and Jenna King all had one run. Jenna King earned hers by hitting a home run.
“It’s like we take a step forward, and a step back. Then we take another step forward, and then another step back. Our team definitely fights hard, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement and a lot of practice that needs to be done,” Coach Roger Wilson said after the game.
Patrick County, now 4-6, traveled Monday to play the Bassett Bengals
