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Lynchburg-Clay softball wins over West Union; clinches share of SHAC Division I championship

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By
Stephen Forsha, The Highland County Press

Twelve hits led to 11 runs for the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs on Tuesday (April 30), as they earned a Southern Hills Athletic Conference win over the West Union Lady Dragons by a 11-0 score in five innings. 

The win against West Union, and on the following day, a loss to Manchester, leave LCHS with an 8-5 SHAC Division I record, giving them no less than a share of the SHAC Div. I championship. 

Eastern is currently 5-5 in the SHAC standings, with three games left on their schedule. If Eastern wins all three games, they’ll tie LCHS in the conference standings. North Adams also has five SHAC losses, with a 5-5 record in the Division I standings, also with three games remaining. (One of the three games is between Eastern and North Adams.)

The shutout win by LC’s pitching staff saw Noel Barnhill pitch four innings, allowing no runs on two hits and no walks, with three strikeouts. 

Jazzy Brown pitched one inning, allowing no runs on no hits and no walks with two strikeouts. 

At the plate, the Lady Mustangs totaled five extra-base hits and 12 overall hits. Leading the team was Caitlyn Collins at 3-for-3 with three runs, a triple and one RBI.

Madison McMullen was 1-for-2 with one run, and teammate Barnhill went 2-for-2 with two RBI and a double. 

Also for LCHS, Reese Ruble was 1-for-1 with three runs and a triple. The Lady Mustangs also had Sophia Michael go 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. 

Brya McClain finished 2-for-3 with one run and two RBI, a triple and a home run. 

Rylee Turner was also 2-for-3 in the win. Kami Collins finished with a run scored. 

The Lady Mustangs collected three steals from Caitlyn Collins, Ruble and Turner. 

BOX SCORE
WUHS
    000 00x x — 0 2 6
LCHS    204 5xx x — 11 12 1

Wednesday (May 1) saw the Lady Mustangs fall in SHAC action by a 6-2 score on the road at Manchester. 

Both runs by LCHS were scored in the top of the sixth inning. Manchester scored one run in the bottom of the first, followed by a second run in the second inning. They followed that with a two-run third, one run in the fourth and a run in the sixth inning. 

For the game, LCHS totaled three hits and three errors, while Manchester had five hits and one error. 

The Lady Mustangs saw Sophia Michael finish 2-for-3 with a run, one double and one RBI. Also with a hit was Avery Blankenship at 1-for-1 with two RBI and a walk. Also with a run was Rylee Turner. Kami Collins was hit by a pitch, while Michael and Jazzy Brown each had one steal. 

Noel Barnhill pitched two innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on one hit and three walks, with two strikeouts. 

Brown pitched four innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts. 

LCHS now stands at 10-10 overall.

BOX SCORE
LCHS
    000 002 0 — 2 3 3 
MHS    112 101 x — 6 5 1


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