Lackey softball tops Thomas Stone in slugfest
Chargers explode for 13 runs in final two innings; earns second straight victor y
The Lackey softball team trailed host Thomas Stone 10-9 after five innings and looked to turn the tides in Monday’s Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Potomac division contest.
The Chargers did just that, scoring 13 runs over the final two innings en route to a 24-10 victory over the Cougars.
It was the second straight win for Lackey (5-5, 3-2 Potomac), which had 26 hits in the contest and matched its similar run total where they shut out the visiting Great Mills Hornets on Friday.
The Chargers had eight runs on 11 hits in the sixth to grab the lead and the eventual win.
“I give Thomas Stone all the credit in the world because those girls fought and I think all of their runs were scored with two outs,” Lackey head coach Jerry Barron said. “Our girls finally realized why we are in a real game. I’m proud of how every time Stone went up we came back. I don’t know where that team was that batted in that last inning. We think we’re down, but our girls did not quit and kept going.”
The Lackey offense was spearheaded by junior second baseman Macie Shumpert, who was 4 for 5 at the plate with two doubles, a home run, while driving in a total of seven runs on the day. Krysta Clark also had four hits and two doubles for the Chargers and Jenna Clark, Gabby Sandy and Kate Kerzel each added three hits.
“When we come together we actually form a team and we hit the ball, play good defense and pick each other up, and that showed in the last inning,” said Shumpert, who hit her first-ever home run in high school in form of a two-run bomb over the left field fence in the third inning. “I’ve been struggling hitting, so it felt really good to put the bat on the ball.”
Lackey jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first, but Stone responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning to come to within 5-4. Stone tied the game at 5 in bottom of the second, but Shumpert’s homer gave the Chargers a 7-5 lead in the top of the third. Stone went up 8-7 in the bottom of the third, but Lackey went back on top 9-8 on a two-run double by Shumpert in the fourth.
Stone went back on top 10-9 in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run double by Peyton Gowin (4 hits). In the top of the sixth, Lackey back on top by one run on a sacrifice fly by Shumpert and an RBI double by Krysta Clark.
“We hit the ball better than what we’ve been hitting it, but we made some errors defensively and that last inning we just collapsed,” Stone head coach Dave Reilly said. “We knew it was going to be a high-scoring game. We only have 11 players and it is not much that we can do. Lackey hit the ball real well, but you can’t have errors, especially when the game was tight heading into the sixth.”
Stone (3-8, 2-4) is scheduled to host Chopticon at 4:30 p.m. today, while Lackey is slated to be at home versus McDonough, also at 4:30 p.m. today.