MINT HILL, NC – After an opening season shutout loss to South Mecklenburg, the Lady Patriots softball team is on fire. They have outscored their opponents in their past 6 games by a huge margin tallying 95 runs and allowing only 22 runs scored. This is an average of scoring 15.8 runs each game while giving up 3.67 per ball game.
The bottom line this team can flat out hit. It may be the best lineup we have seen in a decade, and certainly during my tenure following this program. The pitching has been solid, although not lights out, but with this offense, the pitching has to be consistently good, not outstanding.
After defeating Hopewell early in the week 21-0, the Patriots were expecting to play a competitive Lady Cougars softball club; however, the offensive machine just scored at will with timely hitting, speed, and power with some rockets being smashed into the gaps for doubles and triples. The team would bat through the entire batting order in 1 or 2 innings of each ball game to pummel their opponent. In this most recent case, that opponent was the Cougars from Charlotte Catholic.
The combination of Natalie Johnson, Emma Wrenn, Morgan Clark, Midori Walkup, Sarah Johnson, Elizabeth Garbark, Terris Adkins, Kimber Mulkey, and Kristen Kirby during this winning streak have been very productive. Other players have made a nice contribution including Brisa Hawthorne, Olivia Baker, Seven Hope, and Ana Couch. It has been a team effort, and the young ladies seem to be enjoying every moment of their current success.
To provide our readers with an example of how any inning can explode into blowing another team away, here’s an example that occurred numerous times this week alone. Against Catholic after scoring 2 runs in the first frame, the Patriots continued their hit parade scoring 5 runs in the second and third innings to take a 12-0 lead before the Cougars finally countered with 4 runs of their own in the top of the fourth.
Mulkey leads off with an infield hit, then Wrenn follows with another showing her speed. Clark drills a double in the gap for two ribbies, Walkup singles; with runners on the corners, Sarah Johnson drills a rocket into the right center field gap to empty the bases, and Garbark lines a single to right scoring Johnson.
In the third inning, it’s the same type of scenario. It’s just a matter of who in this strong line up is getting the key hits to tally up the runs. The point is they make contact and keep coming at you relentlessly, putting a great deal of pressure on an opponent’s defense with a combination of clutch hitting, good baserunning, and speed. A very lethal combination and a winning formula along with good pitching makes this seasons version of Lady Patriots a very dangerous team.
