Sports Writer
BLOUNTVILLE — Pitching shined on Monday evening, as the Daniel Boone and West Ridge softball teams battled through four scoreless innings.
However, the bats came alive late for Daniel Boone, which gained a half game on Science Hill in the Big Four Conference standings with a 5-2 win.
“Late in the game, I thought we did a better job at the plate,” Daniel Boone head coach Jeremy Jenkins said.
The Lady Blazers (17-10, 4-1 District 1-4A) continued their strategy of alternating pitchers, as Jenkins looked to maximize the potential usage of both Ava Saul and Kaylea Osborne. Saul got the start and pitched the odd-numbered innings, while Osborne got the second, fourth and sixth. The two combined for 10 strikeouts and just four hits allowed.
“Our pitching has really been the difference in games,” Jenkins said. “We’ll go to war with those two every time. They kept us in the game.”
The work of Saul and Osborne was needed as Miranda Henley also pitched well in this one for the Lady Wolves (21-13, 1-5). She did not allow any runs until the fifth, and did not surrender a hit until the fourth. Henley allowed just four hits and one earned run, while striking out four. Victoria Browder pitched the final 1 1/3 innings and allowed one hit.
“We’ve really not hit (Henley) hard, either, in the past two years,” Jenkins said. “She does a good job of hiding the ball late. We just have to make her get the ball down.”
Boone finally struck for the game’s first run in the fifth, as Riley Croley hit a two-out double to bring home McKenzie Strouth.
The visitors added two more in the sixth for insurance. Richardson hit an RBI double to bring home one before she scored herself on a steal and throwing error. She finished 2-for-4, both doubles to lead Boone offensively.
“She’s a tremendous hard worker,” Jenkins said of Richardson. “She does a lot of work on her own, wanting to get better at her craft…She should probably be up in the lineup, with her speed, but we like her down batting fifth because she gets the opportunity to knock in runs.”
Josie Jenkins added one more run for good measure in the seventh, as her RBI single scored Taylor Brinn to make the game 4-0. She also scored on an error in the frame.
West Ridge attempted to come back in the bottom of the seventh, as the club struck for two runs. An RBI triple from Lily Frazier and a sacrifice bunt by Nila Horne brought the Lady Wolves back within three. But Saul ended the rally with a strikeout to close the game.
Science Hill (3-1) and Dobyns-Bennett (2-3) played in non-conference action on Monday. But the Big Four race heats up the rest of the week, as Science Hill plays Daniel Boone Tuesday and Wednesday and then at Dobyns-Bennett on Thursday and Friday. D-B visits West Ridge Tuesday.
