The Patrick Henry softball team may have started the winter-weather-like season with a cold offense but they set things on fire hosting rival Hanover on Friday night. Playing their best game of the young season, the Patriots handed the Hawks their first loss in notable fashion, burning the Hanover pitching rotation for 14 hits on three home runs, six doubles and seven RBI in the 10-0 six inning win.

  Before the season began Hanover head coach Chris Pace felt Patrick Henry had one of the best offensive slates in the area. The game did not convince him otherwise. “I haven’t seen everybody yet but that that’s probably the best lineup in the region,” he said.

  Patrick Henry head coach Matt Crowder was pleased with the offensive performance. “Top to bottom we did a great job of hitting the ball,” he said. “A great job of situational hitting. The home runs are a little added plus for us.”

  It is the Patriots’ softball IQ that makes them so dangerous. Each of the three Hanover pitchers that saw action effectively shut down the Patrick Henry offense their first time through. However, when those batters came to the plate a second time there was no stopping them.

  How effective was the Patriot offense? They did not hit their first single until the fourth inning and by then they had churned out a 5-0 lead.

  “You just really don’t want any of their batters to have a look at your kid a second time,” Pace said.

  Hanover lefty pitcher Megan Tripp took down the Patriot order in the bottom of the first but by the bottom of the second Patrick Henry had time to examine what she was doing on the mound. Sam Moore, Katie Woody and Ashley Samuels blistered Tripp for back-to-back-to-back doubles to grab a quick 2-0 lead.

  Pace brought Shannon Albright to he mound and like her predecessor she shut down the Patriots for a round.

  Patrick Henry added one more in the bottom of the third when Shanley O’Day reached third on a misplayed ball to left then came home on sacrifice to right by Madison Gilman.

  By the bottom of the fourth, the Patriots were getting their second look at Albright and it showed. Woody led off with a home run over the right field fence and Samuels followed her example sending a ball out of the park in left for a 5-0 lead.

  “The one Ashley hit was a bomb,” Crowder said. “That’s one of he furthest one’s I think I’ve ever seen hit. So when a freshman’s stepping up and is hitting them over the fence too it’s a pretty good night.”

  With one out Kacie Melton hit the Patriots first single of the game, advanced to second then came home on a double from Alley West. A single to center from O’Day drove in West for a 7-0 PH lead.

  In the bottom of the fifth, it was Moore’s turn to send one out of the park and signal the end of Albright’s day with an 8-0 lead.

  Hanover freshman Kiandra Mitchum took to the mound and like her predecessors was effective on the first rotation. But in the bottom of the sixth, Kendalle Weaver started off by reaching second then came home on a double to right by Gilman. Ellen Davidson, running for Gilman ended the game by scoring on a double from Moore.

  “She did okay,” Pace said of Mitchum. “Kiandra let up a couple of runs in a couple of innings but that’s pretty much the same as what everybody else did. But it’s nice to know on our end that she was able to pitch as effectively as our other two.”

  To add to Hanover’s discomfort, PH sophomore pitcher Emma Mitchell also turned in one of her best performances of the season so far, notching eight strikeouts while giving up three hits in the shutout.

  “She came out of the circle after the first inning and said, ‘It feels good. I’m on’,” Crowder said. “She doesn’t say a lot often so when she said that I thought she was going to have a pretty good night.”

  “Emma’s a great pitcher,” Pace said. “Emma made us chase her rise-ball and curve-ball and that’s just good pitching.”

  Pace felt that his team hit the ball pretty well against Mitchell but that only emphasized the unheralded Patriot defense that made several big plays as well. “We hit the ball well enough in a couple of innings to maybe scratch a couple of runs across but those balls got caught,” Pace said.

  In the top of the third Hanover’s Abby Bellows doubled to left and stole third but could not get home. Bellows singled over third in the top of the fifth but once again was left stranded.

  “We lost by the slaughter rule but I was encouraged by the fact that we hit a few balls on the button at least,” Pace said.

  With wins over rivals Atlee and Hanover, Patrick Henry will have to wait a while before facing their biggest challenge— Lee-Davis. The two teams do not play until May 11, but now that Patrick Henry is on their game the contest could turn into an epic matchup, but Crowder downplays its importance.

  “I think that game is just a pride factor. Other than bragging rights in the county it doesn’t mean a whole lot. We’ll end up facing them in the region if we’re fortunate enough and they’re fortunate enough. That’s the one that counts. That’s the one you want to win.

  “We’ve just got to take care of our district first,” he said. “We’ll be okay if we can just take care of the district.”
 
Patrick Henry 10, Hanover 0
Hanover….......... 000 000 —  0   3 1
P. Henry….......... 021 412 — 10 14 0
Tripp, Albright (2), Mitchum (5) and Scarborough; Mitchell and Gilman. L— Tripp.
Highlights: Sam Moore (PH) 3 for 4, HR, 2 2B, 3 RBIs; Katie Woody (PH) 2 for 3, HR, 2B, 2 RBIs; Ashley Samuels (PH) 2 for 3, HR, 2B, 2 RBIs; Abby Bellows (H) 2 for 2, 2B.
Records: Hanover 3-1; Patrick Henry 5-1