Don't be deceived by the Ryle softball team's losing record.
The two-time defending 9th Region champion Raiders have seven
losses after the first 10 games. They have played mostly top-shelf competition
after facing three downstate teams at the Meade County tournament, and three
teams from South Carolina, one against a Tennessee squad and one from Ohio at
the Azalea Invitational.
"We have a lot of girls at new positions. Early in the
season, we're still trying to figure out some things," Ryle coach Patti
Oliverio said. "Playing tough teams in tournaments early helps make us
better a lot faster."
Exhibit A on Wednesday in Union was sophomore first-year starter
Katelyn Stephens. Playing just their second game against a local team, the
Raiders narrowly avoided an upset while outlasting Dixie Heights, 7-6, thanks
in large part to Stephens' improved situational hitting.The right-handed-hitting Stephens has been taking in extra sessions as Ryle assistant coach Steve Oliverio's star pupil. She has a penchant for hitting to the opposite field and the coach is working to improve her mechanics at the plate to ensure she continues to be an asset while going the other way with the pitch.
In a game two weeks ago in South Carolina, Stephens' run-scoring hit to the opposite field plated a key run and her confidence soared.
"Now, I'm normally hitting it to right field," she said. "Every time, when I come up, I think I can put it there."
That's what she did Wednesday with the score tied at 6 in the bottom of the seventh inning. With runners on second and third and one out, Stephens took a fastball on the outside part of the plate and laced a double to right field for the game-winning, walk-off hit.
"We have new fielders and Dixie put pressure on us by putting the ball in play early, and that's what we want," Patti Oliverio said. "In the end, it came down to hitting in the seventh and Katelyn has been working hard."
The Raiders carried momentum into their final at-bats after right fielder Sydney Langsdale, with a runner on first and two outs, made a catch of a slicing liner as she sprinted toward the foul line. Langsdale, a first-year starter, said five games in South Carolina has boosted her confidence in the field.
"I usually don't get to those balls," she said. "But I like the opportunity, and I got that one."
Dixie (6-4) jumped on all-region ace Haylee Smith with five hits while plating a pair of first-inning runs against the Raiders (3-7). The Colonels led 6-4 after five.
"We almost made a statement," Dixie coach Roddy Stainforth said.
Dixie Heights 220 110 0 -- 6 - 11 - 2
Ryle 301 001 2 -- 7 - 11 - 1
WP: Smith 1-4 (7 K's). LP: Spencer 4-3. Leaders: D-James 4-4; Garrett 2-5. R-Stephens 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Smith 2-4, 2B; Rouse 2-4, 2B; Hommes 2-4. Records: D 6-4, Ryle 3-7.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment