ELIZABETH CITY – Ridgecroft School’s varsity softball team put together one of it’s finest performances of the season Monday.

The Lady Rams blanked Albemarle School 10-0 on the road to secure a victory inside the Tarheel Independent Conference.

Emily Cooke got her first-ever varsity pitching victory, throwing all five innings and striking out two while walking four.

The Lady Rams scored the final run of the contest in the bottom of the fifth frame when Tayler Smith stole home plate by taking off when the catcher threw the ball back to the pitcher. Smith’s slide was hard enough to jar the ball loose and score.

Smith led the team offensively in the contest with a 3-for-4 day at the plate that included a pair of doubles. Cooke was a perfect 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles. Jessica Bolton and Whitney Liverman were each 2-for-3 on the afternoon.

“This was probably our best overall game of the season,” Ridgecroft assistant coach Jon Northcott said.

The win came after a pair of setbacks in the inaugural Ridgecroft Softball Classic.

The Lady Rams suffered a 12-2 setback at the hands of archrival Northeast Academy. Ridgecroft had just four hits highlighted by Cooke’s solo homerun off the new scoreboard.

Keri Daly took the loss, but pitched better than the score indicated, according to Northcott.

“We made a lot of errors and mental mistakes, but Northeast hit the ball well and has improved a lot since the first game we played with them,” the coach added.

In the second game of the day, the Rams fell to Northampton County High School n East by a final of 11-7.

Smith led the team with a 2-for-3 performance with a triple. Cooke and Bolton were each 2-for-4.