Albemarle’s softball team hasn’t hosted a playoff game since 2013, when the Patriots’ seniors were in eighth grade.
They made up for lost time Monday, rolling 8-2 over Patrick Henry-Roanoke in the first round of the Conference 16 tournament. The Patriots settled down after a rough start with two early errors staking Patrick Henry to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
From there though, Albemarle pitcher Ellie Cain settled in and with some savvy baserunning the AHS offense came alive. It was a near repeat performance of the way she got back on track against Monticello just a week ago when Cain dropped into a hole before finding a groove as Albemarle beat the Mustangs in extra innings.
“She did it again tonight,” said Albemarle coach Charlie Scott. “She gave up one hit in the last six innings and she struck out six, has to be a high for the year. Ellie isn’t a strikeout pitcher, we have to play defense behind her and she was hitting her spots. When she does that, she keeps them off balance.”
It helped Cain of course that the offense got going. The Patriots stepped up their aggressiveness on the basepaths and that helped them scratch out a run in the third to get started. Then Meghan Brown blasted an RBI double in the fourth to tie the game at 2-2 before Ramey Mounts scored on a passed ball.
“We were aggressive tonight, more so than any game all year,” Scott said. “We ran the bases well tonight.”
With the game tied, Albemarle was back to square one, but they didn’t stay there long, with Ramey Mounts scoring shortly after Brown’s blast for the go-ahead run at 3-2. Morgan Bettinger then knocked in two runs on a single to blow the game open a little bit at 5-2.
Albemarle kept things going with a Logan Friesen RBI single in the fifth and Brown with an RBI single in the sixth. Brown played well, a strong performance from a player who has bounced back from a challenging 2016 season.
“Meghan Brown was on it tonight, she went 3 for 4 with a double, two singles,” Scott said. “I’m very happy for her, she had a tough season last year.”
Bettinger drew three walks in addition to her RBI double while Friezen went 2-for-3 with an RBI, two runs and a walk.
Albemarle advances to the Conference 16 semifinals where they’ll face Patrick Henry-Ashland Wednesday.
