East duo combine to toss ‘no-no’
Published 12:00 am Thursday, April 7, 2005
CREEKSVILLE – Sometimes it’s a tough life for Northampton-East softball skipper John Kisic.
With sophomore starting pitcher Mindy Drewette lighting up the opposition from the mound and freshman Corrie Bridgers also able to mow down opponents, how do you make sure both arms are getting the correct amount of work?
Kisic decided it was to use both as Bridgers and Drewette combined for a no-hitter here Tuesday afternoon as they dismissed Tar-Roanoke Conference rival Rocky Mount Charter 26-2.
&uot;We attacked, stayed on the attack and didn’t let up,&uot; Kisic said of his team’s sixth victory in eight starts this season. &uot;We ran the bases well and took advantage of every opportunity.
&uot;We played hard from the first pitch to the last pitch and that’s what we’ve needed,&uot; he continued. &uot;We’re getting better.&uot;
The pitching for the Rams was nothing short of brilliant for the better part of the contest. Bridgers faced 16 batters through four innings, giving up no hits and sitting down a pair by strikeout. She got stronger as the day progressed, facing the minimum number of batters in both the third and fourth frames.
Drewette was no less impressive, pitching a perfect fifth inning. The sophomore righty caught a line drive against the first batter she faced and struckout the next two.
A walk in the first inning led to a Lady Jaguar run, but the Lady Rams responded with vigor in the bottom of the first.
Jessica Price started the frame with a bunt single and took second on a wild pitch. She scored easily on Drewette’s RBI-single to left. Amanda Bethel then delivered a one-run double to left-centerfield before Lou Anne Flythe singled to score Bethel and give Northampton a 3-0 lead.
Nikki Turner hit into an RBI-groundout to bring Flythe around to score, but the inning didn’t end there. Megan Ard drew a walk and stole second before scoring on a Jo Ann Rose RBI-single to give Northampton a 5-0 lead.
After a run scored due to an error in the top of the second, the Lady Rams scored five additional runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 10-2 lead.
Drewette reached on a walk before Bethel and Flythe delivered back-to-back singles. Turner came through with a double to left-center and Rose reached on an error to help the Lady Rams claim their lead.
The Lady Jaguars got their leadoff runner on for the third consecutive time in the third, but Flythe erased the runner when she threw her out on an attempted steal of second. Bridgers then got the next two batters to ground out to end the inning quietly.
In the bottom of the third, the Rams scored four additional runs thanks to singles by Bethel, Flythe and Turner, a double by Rose and a triple off the bat of Bridgers.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Lady Rams sent 16 batters to the plate, with 11 of them coming up after there were two outs. They scored 12 runs to secure the win.
Offensively, Bethel led East with a 4-for-4 day that included two RBIs. Turner was 3-for-4 with four RBIs and Flythe checked in at 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Also collecting multiple hits were Rose (2-for-3) and Bridgers (2-for-5).
The Lady Rams are now 6-1-1 on the season and will have to reschedule Friday’s contest with North Edgecombe due to scheduling conflicts for the host school.