BOONE — Starmount softball used a pair of crucial innings, and a solid performance from inside the pitcher’s circle, to score a 9-1 win against Watauga on Wednesday night.
The Lady Rams, who improved to 8-6 overall, and pitcher Rachel Bates limited the Lady Pioneers to just five hits in the ball game. The win also helped Starmount bounce back from a tough 6-1 loss at East Wilkes the night before.
Bates, a freshman, allowed no earned runs, walked three and struck out seven in a complete game.
According to Ben Maggard, Watauga’s head softball coach, the difference came down to making adjustments, especially in the early going.
“We’ve struggled all year with getting our bats going early and that kind of got us tonight. We could’ve hit better in the earlier innings,” said Maggard. “Starmount’s a good team, they’ve got a good pitcher, so hats off to them, they got the best of us tonight.”
Despite not collecting their first hit — a dribbler that Katie Matheson beat out for an infield single — until the bottom of the third inning, the Lady Rams only led 2-0 at the time.
Watauga (6-5) got something going in the third after Matheson advanced to second base on Dagan Newsome’s infield single with one out.
Starmount left both runners stranded after Bates induced an infield fly from Presli Wood and struck out Jordin Greene to end the inning.
Mackenzie Cox was the catalyst for Starmount on offense as the sophomore went 3-for-3 with a trio of runs batted in. She had a hand in each of the Lady Rams’ first three runs, which included an RBI double that extended the lead to three in the fifth. Payton Howell added an RBI groundout.
Matheson, Watauga’s No. 9 hitter, started another potential scoring opportunity in the bottom of the fifth when the junior drew a one-out walk and advanced into scoring position on a ground out from Newsome.
Presli Wood would reach on an error to score Matheson and make it a 5-1 game.
Matheson went 2-for-2 at the plate and reached base in all three of her plate appearances. Newsome also finished with two hits in the game and Lilli Taylor went 1-for-3 for the Lady Pioneers.
In addition to Cox, Bates and Makinna Swaim finished with two hits apiece for Starmount. Swaim smacked a two-run homer in the top of the sixth as six of the Lady Rams’ 10 hits in the game went for extra bases.
Starmount is scheduled for Northwest 1A Conference play on Tuesday at North Stokes; and travel to Mount Airy on Thursday.
Starmount 9, Watauga 1
Starmount 101 033 1 — 9 10 1
Watauga 000 010 0 — 1 5 3
PITCHING
Watauga
Katie Matheson (7 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K)
Starmount
Rachel Bates (7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K)
HITTING
Watauga
Katie Matheson 2-2 (R)
Dagan Newsomne 2-3 (BB)
Lilli Taylor 1-3
Starmount
Mackenzie Cox 3-3 (2B, 3 RBI)
Makinna Swaim 2-4 (2-R HR)
Rachel Bates 2-3 (3B)
Emma Frenette 1-3 (2B)
Molly Swaim 1-4
Payton Howell 1-4 (2B, RBI)
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