Lady Wolves Light Up Berryville On Senior Night

LINCOLN — Lincoln completed its softball regular season celebrating senior night in fine fashion by defeating Berryville, 15-0, in a run-rule nonconference victory Friday.

The triumphant end of a regular season that saw the Lady Wolves go undefeated in 3A-1 Conference play brought a shout out to the team from first-year head coach Brittany Engel with Lincoln doing what its thrived on all year hitting the ball well by committee.

“We had 15 hits. Every single person in our lineup except one had a hit and six out of nine players had multiple hits. That’s pretty good for senior night,” Engel said.

Top performances in the batter’s box featured Amber Bryant (3-for-4, double, RBI), Ryleigh Landrum ( 2- for3, 2 RBIs), Addie Pershall (2-for-3, 2 RBIs), Lily Riherd (2-for-3, RBI), Zella Pomeroy (2-for-2, RBI), Brinkley Moreton (2-for-4, double, triple, 2 RBIs), and Kristen Rhine (1-for-3, triple, 3 RBIs).

The wind became a factor, holding up several fly balls including two by Moreton that otherwise would have gone over the fence for home runs.

“I think Alexandra Torres would have had a home run, too, but it got held up with the wind blowing,” Engel said.

Moreton connected with the bases loaded but the wind kept it in the park, allowing Berryville to end the first inning trailing 5-0.

The Lady Wolves went down in order in the second and Engel let them know she expected more. When the third inning arrived Rhine reached on an error. Pershall singled into right center, Torres bunted into what would have been a fielder’s choice but the throw was dropped at third, loading the bases.

Zella Pomeroy drew a walk, pushing a run across. Ryleigh Landrum sent a single into right center, scoring two runs and upping Lincoln’s lead to 8-0. Moreton nearly went yard except for the wind and got a sacrifice fly, bringing the score to 9-0. Stidham hit a blooper over second to score Lincoln’s 10th run.

Bryant singled into right center and Riherd drew a walk to again load the bases. Rhine got a break when two infielders collided. A run scored and she got on base. Pershall’s sacrifice fly brought in a twelfth run for Lincoln. Next Torres sent a high fly ball sailing deep into the outfield before the wind grabbed it and brought it down to keep Berryville alive for one more inning.

Lincoln pushed three runs across in the fourth to end the game with a 15-0 run-rule victory.

Moreton continued to overpower opponents with another solid outing in the chalked circle. The freshman fireballer threw her sixth no-hitter of the season, striking out 11 batters over four innings.

Lincoln senior Alexandra Torres (left) celebrated senior night as the Lady Wolves beat Berryville, 15-0, on Friday, April 22, 2022. Torres came very close to hitting a home run but the ball got held up by a strong wind and was caught in the outfield. Senior Katie Jones (right) celebrated senior night dressing out and starting, although she was substituted for prior to the first pitch because of an injury that prevented her from competing. The Lady Wolves beat Berryville, 15-0. Jones’ statistics compiled through April 14 show 46 plate appearances and 42 at-bats as the 9-hole hitter contributed 17 hits highlighted by four doubles and a home run. She scored 17 times and drove in four runs while batting .405 in helping Lincoln win the 3A-1 Conference championship with a 12- 0 league record.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Lincoln’s softball team poses on senior night. The team was coached by head coach Brittany Engel (front row left) and assistant coach Brooklyn Keeling (front row right).

SUBMITTED PHOTOS