South Lenoir Softball Stumbles After 11-Day Layoff, Loses 8-1 to East Duplin
South Lenoir's softball team returned to action Tuesday after an 11-day layoff due to two canceled games last week, but the Blue Devils couldn't reignite their fire from the previous five-game winning streak. They suffered an 8-1 loss to East Duplin, leaving their overall record at 6-4.
The visiting East Duplin Panthers (7-3) proved too strong for South Lenoir, breaking the game open with a four-run fourth inning. Key hits from Larissa Baysden, Carley Grace Jenkins, and Chandler Mobley fueled the rally for East Duplin.
Morgan Brown, the starting pitcher for East Duplin, showed her skill on the mound by going the full seven innings. She held the Blue Devils to just one run on six hits, striking out four and walking none.
Mary Grace Beyer was the pitcher for South Lenoir, but she had a hard time stopping East Duplin's offense. Beyer lasted four and a third innings, surrendering seven runs on five hits and fanning four. Callie Tyndall provided two and two-thirds innings of relief.
Blue Devils coach Madison Harvey acknowledged the team's pitching wasn't as strong as in previous games. "But you saw they are a good team that can hit the ball really well," Harvey said of East Duplin.
Makayla Sasnett led South Lenoir's offense, going 2-for-3 at the plate. Despite the loss, the Blue Devils managed six hits, just two fewer than East Duplin's total of eight.
After a tough non-conference schedule, Coach Harvey is still hopeful about her team's developments and progressions.
"We are getting there," Harvey said. "We had 11 days where we didn't play. I think that hurt us a little bit; we just need to get the fire back going."
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