Freshman pitcher Zakiyah Hailey (20) delivers a pitch against Marlboro County in the top of the second inning on March 3, 2026.
Travis Petty Jr | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG — A explosive fourth inning sparked the Scotland High softball team to a 12-2 victory over Marlboro County on Tuesday in its season opener.
Zakiyah Haley pitched three innings, allowing two hits and two runs, one of which was earned. She walked one batter and recorded two strikeouts. Haydynn Lowery took over for the final three innings, giving up one hit, walking three batters and striking out six.
Addison Lewis, Khloe Radford and Arianna Brigman each recorded two hits apiece, while Radford added three RBIs. Scotland would score in every inning and cruise past Marlboro County in a decisive victory in the bottom of the sixth.
“We scored plenty of runs and sprayed the ball around,” head coach Adam Romain said. “We made them go through three different pitchers, and the moment we saw how they were pitching, we made our adjustments and made them uncomfortable.”
“There’s still room for improvement. We’re a young team, trying to improve our pitching and our base running and we will continue to get better.”
Scotland (1-0) will be on the road against East Forsyth on Friday at 6 p.m.
Travis Petty Jr can be reached at [email protected] or 910.506.3171 ext 2027. Follow him on Facebook @Travis Petty Jr.