The Lady Cougars won their second straight game to open the 2024 season, beating the Bassett Bengals 11-0 on March 13.
“That was a good win,” said Patrick County coach Ryan Pendelton after the game, noting that Basset won both meetings with the Cougars last season.
It was Bassett who got off to a fast start with back-to-back singles in the top of the first. Lady Cougar starting pitcher McKenzie Holt, struck out two Bengals before loading the bases with a hit batter. Holt struck out the next batter, ending the inning and the Bengal threat.
In the bottom of the first, the Lady Cougars took advantage of walks and Bassett errors to take a 3-0 lead into the second inning, where their bats came alive.
In the second, Bryley Pike got things going with a single before stealing second and reaching third on a throwing error. Journey Moore crushed a two-run home run, increasing the lead to 5-0. A few batters later, Lilly Hazelwood hit the second two-run home run of the inning, giving the Cougars a 7-0 lead after two.
The Cougars put up four more runs in the fourth inning. Journey Moore reached on a long fly ball off the center field fence, and scored on a McKenzie Holt double. Maria Turner plated two more runs later in the inning with a stand-up double, increasing the lead to 11-0.
Bassett once again loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the fifth, but a Hayden Lawless strikeout ended the inning, preserving the shutout.
In the shutout, McKenzie Holt struck out seven in her three innings of work to start the game. Hayden Lawless pitched the final two innings, striking out two. Coach Ryan Pendelton said that the defense behind the Lady Cougar pitchers improved over their opening game. “I think we made four or five errors against Dan River. We cleaned it up a little bit today.”
