CHARLOTTESVILLE — Having an eight-game winning streak snapped earlier in the week has done little to slow down Eastern Hancock.
If anything, it made it clear to them what they need to fix as postseason play approaches.
After a 13-3 loss to Class 4A No. 6 Pendleton Heights on Wednesday, the Royals bounced back with two wins at home. On Thursday they defeated Class 2A No. 11 Union County and on Friday they knocked off Lapel 12-2.
“The Pendleton game, we should’ve never got off the bus. We had a pretty good talk when we got back from that game, and that game definitely opened their eyes. Teams that can locate pitching and can hit the ball can beat you,” Eastern Hancock head coach Terry Stephens said. “I knew Union County would be a close game, too, but I didn’t expect us to have to come from behind. The girls found a way to win, though, and that’s key.”
A change in the Royals’ mindset at the plate was the key in the win over Union County, and proved to be a difference in Friday evening’s win as well.
After being held to three runs at Pendleton, the Royals bats have gotten back to that double-digit output that has been the key to their success all season long. On the season, they’re 12-0 when scoring double digits, and in their three losses they have scored just nine combined runs.
Not forcing things, and taking what the pitcher gives you, has been the biggest difference over the last two games.
“At the Pendleton game, we tried to pull the outside pitch and got a bunch of little pop outs, so we talked about how we need to start taking the outside pitch the other way. Once they quit trying to pull that pitch and just go with the ball, It was a big difference,” Stephens said. “If you quit swinging for the fences, they’re going to go over if you just swing the way you’re supposed to.”
On Friday, that mindset led to 12 runs on 14 hits.
A six-run second inning in which the Royals sent 10 batters to the plate was all they would need to secure the win.
A Grace Stapleton double brought in the first run of the inning, and made things 2-0, and one batter later she was singled in by Addisyn Trackwell.
Alina Alford added a pinch-hit three-run home run, and Lilli Ringer knocked in the final run of the inning on a sacrifice fly.
A Trackwell double in the third kick-started a three-run inning, and the Royals added two in the sixth for the mercy-rule victory.
Trackwell’s fourth hit of the night, an RBI-single to right field, brought in Stapleton for the game-ending run.
Trackwell’s four hits led the Royals along with Alford’s three RBIs, and Sammie Bolding added a double and triple.
In the circle, Madison Stephens picked up her eighth win. She allowed two runs and five hits over six innings of work, and struck out 12. But for coach Stephens, there are still some things that need to be sharpened up.
“Most people don’t know what pitch I’m calling, and to be honest, Madison was off by a lot. Right now she’s just fighting herself more than anything, and just aiming the ball a bit,” the coach said. “For her, she struggled, but she still had 12 strikeouts, so it’s something to build on. We’ll get all those kinks out, though.”
The Royals look to close out the week with their third win in three days today at 11 a.m. at Frankton.
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Eastern Hancock 12, Lapel 2
Lapel (9-8);000;020;-;2;5;3
Eastern Hancock (13-3);163;002;-;12;14;0
Krystin Davis, Karlie Jannings (2) and Paige Stires. Madison Stephens and Kaylee Kline. 2B: EH – Grace Stapleton, Addisyn Trackwell, Sammie Bolding. 3B: EH – S. Bolding. HR: EH – Alina Alford. WP: Madison Stephens (8-1). LP: Krystin Davis (1-2).
