The Richard Winn Academy Lady Eagles softball squad, in their first season back on the varsity circuit in many years, had their playoff run cut short Friday, dropping a pair of games in the first round of the SCISA Class 2A tournament at the Oak Grove sports complex in Lexington. The Lady Eagles were knocked from contention by Pee Dee Academy in the nightcap, 12-4. Richard Winn was forced into the loser’s bracket earlier in the afternoon, falling 11-1 to the Lady Cavaliers of Lee Academy.
Bailey Taylor took the loss for the Eagles in game one, hurling 95 pitches in four innings of work in the circle. Taylor gave up 10 runs (six earned) on nine hits, a walk, one hit batsman and two strikeouts. Megan Simpson tossed the final frame in the run-shortened, four and a third inning affair, giving up the winning run on two hits. Defensively, the Lady Eagles committed six errors behind their battery.
The Lady Cavs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after leadoff hitter Kay Manuel reached on an error in the bottom of the first and was driven in on an RBI single by Brenda Watts. Watts came around on an RBI by Anna Outlaw, who was thrown out at first by Eagle third baseman Alyssa Atkerson.
The Lady Eagles had an opportunity to strike in the second after Anna Grey Walters led off the inning with a single to left and moved to second when Megan Simpson drew a walk from Lee pitcher Kay Farmer. Both moved up when Sarah Coleman, the DH, hit into a 5-3 putout for the first out of the inning. Then, when Anna Connor drove a fly ball into deep center, Walters tried to score from third after the catch. But Lee executed the relay from center to shortstop to home plate flawlessly, and Walters was cut down to end the inning.
The Cavs plated four more in the third on four hits and one Eagle error, putting Richard Winn into a 6-0 hole. In the top of the fourth, the Lady Eagles finally broke through, but in spite of loading the bases with no outs, only managed to push across a single run.
Atkerson led off the fourth with a walk and moved to second when Taylor reached on a throwing error by the Lee third baseman. Walters drew the second walk of the inning to juice the bags, sending Simpson to the plate. Simpson thumped a dribbler back to the pitching circle, but Farmer couldn’t find the handle. Simpson reached on the error, scoring Atkerson. Coleman then hit a line drive to the first baseman for out number one, and Connor hit into an inning-ending double play.
The Lady Cavs came right back in the bottom half and scored four more on three hits and three Eagle errors, pushing the game to the brink at 10-1. Although the Lady Eagles loaded the bases again in the fifth, Farmer worked out of the jam with three strikeouts. Lee Academy put the game away with one out in the bottom of the fifth when Farmer drove in the winning run with an RBI single.