When the Charlton County Indians came to Patriot Field to face the CCA Patriots baseball team on March 21, the Patriots weren’t very gracious hosts. CCA won 9-0, thanks to Blake Bryant’s 17 strikeouts and a potent offensive onslaught that sent a strong early-season message to the rest of the state.
Monday, the Lady Patriots traveled to Folkston face the Indians on the softball field. And things didn’t go much better for Charlton County this time around, either.
CCA won 16-4 in four innings via run rule. Pitcher Shanley Meeks was very efficient in her own right, needing only 68 pitches to dispatch the Indians. She gave up four runs (only one of which was earned) in four innings, striking out four to two walks. The Lady Patriots committed an uncharacteristic five errors, hence the three unearned runs.
The game was out of reach after two innings; CCA led 11-3 after scoring five in the first and six in the second. The Lady Patriots added one in the third and four in the fourth to take a 16-4 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, Charlton managed a single but didn’t do a whole lot to threaten extending the game.
In the top of the fourth, Peighton Harper walked and Arabelle Roberts singled to start the rally. Brilynn Waldron followed with a single that scored Harper. Meeks was next with a single that drove in Roberts and moved Waldron to third. Emma Gourley doubled, scoring Waldron for a 15-4 lead. With Klair Mercer at the plate, Gourley went to third on a wild pitch. She eventually scored when Mercer hit a two-out single for the final run of the game and a 16-4 CCA advantage.
Allie Veal, Waldron, Gourley, and Mercer had two hits each. Waldron scored three times. Maci Rucker, Gourley, Mercer, and Veal scored twice. Veal also drove in four.
Mattie Lewis had just one hit but it was a big one – a two-run home run in the second inning, her first of the season. Veal, Waldron, and Gourley also doubled for CCA’s other extra-base hits.
The Lady Patriots are 10-3 this season. They have the rest of the week off then face Charlton County in a rematch on September 8 at Patriot Field in Douglas at 6 p.m.
