RED LION — After a rough start, Red Lion softball pitcher Angelina Edwards settled in, holding Saint Mark’s team scoreless over the final six-plus innings in an 11-3 Lions victory on April 13 under the lights at Red Lion. The game pitted two teams ranked in the top 10 by Delaware Live.
When Edwards wasn’t quieting the Spartans’ bats, the Lions were busy pushing runs across home plate and playing stellar defense. They slammed a pair of home runs and also turned two double plays.
The game started on a positive note for Saint Mark’s. Anna Katherine Lovett singled to start the game, and Morgan Hall followed with a double down the left-field line. Ryleigh Thomas was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The cleanup hitter, Jordon Alexander, grounded a ball to third base, and the throw home skipped to the fence. Lovett and Hall scored, and Thomas went to third. Thomas later scored the third run.
The Lions scored single runs in the first and second, but they would flex their muscles in the third. Maiti Meginniss opened with a single, and Regan Mendick walked. A one-out walk to Cam Hoffman loaded the bases. Meginniss scored on a sacrifice fly by Raven Lieske, but Kimorah Neal drew a two-out walk to reload the bases. Peyton Pusey cleared them with a grand slam over the right-field wall, giving the Lions a 7-3 lead.
Carly Maxton came on to relieve Thomas at that point, and she retired the first eight batters she faced. Red Lion put together a rally with two outs in the sixth, however. Edwards knocked in one run with a double to left, and Mendick closed out the scoring by lining a pitch over the fence in left.
Edwards and her defense held the Spartans scoreless after the first. She worked out of trouble in the second, when three batters reached without a hit. Hoffman made a running catch in the fourth that carried her into the fence down the sideline, then fired a strike to third to catch a runner trying to advance. Morgan Hall singled to open the fifth inning for Saint Mark’s, but the Lions erased any trouble with another double play.
Pusey led the Lions on offense with three hits and a walk, with two runs scored. Mendick was on base three times, scoring twice, and Edwards had a pair of hits and two runs batted in. In the circle, Edwards allowed six hits and struck out six. Red Lion (6-1) are home Saturday against Sussex Tech for an 11 a.m. start.
For the Spartans, Hall had two hits and scored a run. She was on base three times. Thomas also reached base three times. Thomas and Maxton combined to strike out 11 Lions. Saint Mark’s fell to 6-2 and hosts St. Elizabeth on April 21 at 4 p.m.
Photos by Nick Halliday and Mike Lang.
