Cedar Ridge 10, Person 7: It will be a relief to many batters, but not many pitchers, that the fences at Cedar Ridge softball field are no longer the deepest in the Central Conference.
In fact, the old distance of 220 feet down the left and right field lines were longer than most college softball fields. On Tuesday night, Cedar Ridge pitcher Charlotte Lowry didn’t let the shorter fences stand in the way of a career-high 12 strikeouts.
Lowry allowed just five hits as the Red Wolves defeated Person for the second straight time. Last year, the Red Wolves defeated the Rockets 4-2 in Hillsborough.
Junior Kimber Shambley hit her first home run of the season with a solo blast in the third inning, which started a four-run frame. Sophomore Laci Sykes and Rylee Capps each reached on singles. Kaitlyn Nieves entered as a courtesy runner for Capps. Brittani Goodard grounded to pitcher Paisley Rigsbee, which allowed Nieves and Sikes to move up 60 feet each. Senior Cierra Copeland sent a single to right field to score Sykes and Nieves, which Goodard went to third base. Madeline Galindo-Woodring reached on an error by the first baseman, which brought in Goodard and increased the Cedar Ridge lead to 7-1.
Galindo-Woodring, the Red Wolves leadoff batter, legged out an infield single on a grounder hit to Person third baseman Camryn Clarke in the first inning as the Red Wolves grabbed an early advantage. After Shambley earned a four-pitch walk, Lowry reached on a dropped third strike The ball was bounced over the glove of first baseman Makayla Walker, which allowed Galindo-Woodring and Shambley to score the opening two runs. Cameron Copeland reported in for Lowry as a courtesy runner. Capps sent a roller to centerfield, scoring Copeland and giving the Red Wolves a 3-0 lead.
Lowry struck out the side in the first inning, setting the tone for the night.
Cedar Ridge 19, Walter Williams 0 (5 innings): Shambley homered for the second night in a row against the Bulldogs in Burlington as the Red Wolves improved to 6-1 overall, 2-1 in the Central Conference.
Pitcher Mia Best added three doubles. Best, who improved to 3-0, struck out eight over five innings.
The Red Wolves had a season-best 20 hits. They opened with five runs in the first inning. After Galindo-Woodring was hit by Bulldogs pitcher Madison Horner, Shambley sent a screamer to right field that cleared the fence. Best sent a double to centerfield. Capps followed with a RBI single to right field. Lowry stroked another double to left field to score Copeland.
Shambley sent an RBI double to fight field to score Galindo-Woodring to start the second inning. Capps added an infield single to increase the Red Wolf lead to 8-0.
Capps finished 4-for-5 with two RBIs. Shamlbey went 4-for-5 with six RBIs. Over the course of two nights, Shambley went 6-for-9 with two home runs and seven RBIs. Best finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Goodard registered a lien of 2-for-3. The Red Wolves finished with eight doubles, including one from Victoria Matthews.
Last Friday, the Red Wolves had a tight, 3-2 loss to Western Alamance in Elon. The Warriors are the defending 3A Eastern Regional champions. The Warriors scored all three of its runs in the third inning.
Cedar Ridge fought back with two runs in the fourth inning. With two out, Sykes stroked a single to centerfield. Shambley followed with a double to centerfield that advanced Sykes to third base. Goddard sent a bouncing ball up the middle for a two-run single that reduced the Warriors lead to 3-2.
The Red Wolves will travel to Southern Alamance, the 2021 3A State Champions, for its first conference matchup against the Patriots on Thursday night in Graham. The Patriots are 5-1 and won its Central Conference opener over Williams.