Lady Pack sweeps Conley tournament

Published 10:52 pm Saturday, April 15, 2017

WINTERVILLE — Washington scored in each inning in a 13-3, five-inning win over 3-A foe Havelock on Saturday, marking its third win in two days to finish the Conley Easter tournament 3-0.

Earlier in the day, the Lady Pack scored four runs in the top of the seventh to edge Edenton, 6-5. It showed that Washington had the mental fortitude to mount a late comeback, but also the raw talent to win two of the games in convincing fashion.

“That was our goal, our intention,” coach Doug Whitehead said. “We got a nice break from conference. We got some good offense with all the kids in. They got some good playing time. We’re going to take the week off and get ready to play North Johnston, try to win the conference.”

After the Lady Rams scratched together a run in the top of the first, Washington got right to work with a leadoff triple by Hailey Harris. She scored on an error that let Sarah Lynch reach safely. The Lady Pack tied the game, but left the go-ahead run stranded on second.

Abbigail Tucker struck out all three batters she faced in the top of the second to set up Washington’s offense to create some separation. The first two Lady Pack batters were retired before Chaleigh Baynor singled over the middle. She moved over a base on a passed ball, then scored on Harris’ dart through the right side. Lynch drew a walk and Mary B. Dixon cleared the bases with a double to the fence in left centerfield.

Sarah Lynch gets down and slides into third base.

Havelock got one back, but Washington poured on four more in the third. Haley Witham and Jordan Pierce led off with consecutive base knocks. The Lady Rams were able to get two outs without allowing a run, but Harris scored Baynor and Meghan Horton with a double to left field. She came home on Dixon’s single to make it 8-2.

Desiree Maurizzio’s sacrifice-fly RBI gave Tucker an opening to score in the fourth.

The Lady Pack needed four runs in the bottom of the fifth to win via the 10-run mercy rule. Harris belted a one-out double to the left-field fence, then scored on Dixon’s single back up the middle. With the bases loaded, Briley Waters, Grace Lassiter and Maurizzio notched three-straight RBI singles to finish things off.

Washington beat Havelock, 9-2, in its season opener back on Feb. 28. Whitehead was happy with the improvement he saw from meeting to meeting.

“They’ve got a good record,” Whitehead said. The Lady Rams are 6-3 in the Coastal 3-A Conference. “They’ve been playing some good ball and they play in a good conference. It’s good to see how we compare. We’re moving in the right direction.”