AHOSKIE – Northampton-East used a strong pitching performance by sophomore Mindy Drewette to knock off rival Hertford County 12-5 in a non-conference matchup here Friday afternoon.

The sophomore right-hander went six innings, giving up no hits and allowing five unearned runs in lifting the Lady Rams to a 1-0 start on the season.

Rams’ first-year mentor John Kisic said he was pleased with parts of the performance.

&uot;I thought we hit well, which was a surprise, because we lost a lot of practice time,&uot; he said. &uot;I had pneumonia and then the weather didn’t cooperate.

&uot;The one thing I think we need to improve on is game intensity and being focused,&uot; he continued. &uot;We weren’t focused for seven innings. I did think our defense was pretty good and the pitching was good except for the walks.&uot;

Hertford County was playing their first softball game since last season was called to an end after just three games and first-year skipper Rick Heckler said he was pleased with the overall effort.

&uot;We’re going to get better,&uot; he said. &uot;We know what we have to work on.&uot;

The Lady Rams took an early lead in the contest when they plated three runs in the visitor’s half of the first frame.

The Lady Bears answered with a run in the bottom of the second that cut the Northampton-East advantage to 3-1.

East scored in the top of the third followed by an HCHS run in the bottom of the fourth to keep the score at a three-run distance (5-2).

East started to pull away as the Lady Rams plated three in the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 10-2 lead, but the Lady Bears responded with three runs in the sixth to get back to within 10-5.

Northampton then put a three-spot on the board in the top of the seventh stanza.

Drewette led the Lady Rams offensively as well, going 4-for-5 at the plate and scoring two runs. Megan Ard was 3-for-4 with one run scored while Amanda Bethel went 2-for-3 and scored three runs. Louann Flythe added a 2-for-4 performance with three runs scored.

Five different players crossed the plate for Hertford County. They included Tiffany Outlaw, Chelsea Pierce, Denisha Gatling, Lindsey White and Tara Jilcott. Lady Bears’ starter Lindsay Latham (0-1) suffered the pitching loss.

The two squads will meet again tomorrow (Wednesday) when Hertford County travels to Northampton-East for a 4:30 p.m. contest.