Addison Johnson was recognized for passing 100 career stolen bases prior to Tuesday night’s victory over Richmond in the SAC Tournament semifinals at Scotland High School. Johnson had two stolen bases in the win and led the team in RBIs with four while going 3-3 at the plate.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Johnson honored for 100 career stolen bases before win
Khloe Radford (13) swings at a pitch. Radford went 1-2 from the plate and scored three runs.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Avery Stutts throws a pitch. Stutts pitched all four innings of Tuesday’s win and had nine strikeouts.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Dawson Blue (4) fields a grounder and throws the ball to first base. Blue went 2-3 batting and had two RBIs, two runs scored and drew a walk.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Emily Sampson (11) glides into second base safely. Sampson went 1-3 from the plate with an RBI.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG —The Lady Scots softball team advanced to the Sandhills Athletic Conference Championship Game with a 15-0 victory (four innings) over the Richmond Raiders in the semifinals on Tuesday night at Scotland High School. The Scots beat the Raiders in all three meetings this season, having taken the first regular season matchup back on March 25 in Rockingham by a score of 15-0 as well as at home on April 17 in a 15-0 final. Senior Addison Johnson was recognized prior to the game for passing 100 stolen bases in her career and added two on Tuesday night.
Johnson admitted after the game that she was not expecting a ceremony but was super appreciative of the recognition. She was also glad to help contribute to another victory over Scotland’s archrival and feels good about how everyone was able to assist in the win.
“That means a lot, I was definitely surprised I didn’t know anything was going on, it means a lot to have a team that cares that much about each other’s accomplishments,” Johnson said. “Beating Richmond is always a good win, just being able to come out here and have a team win, everybody being able to contribute means a lot to us.”
Scotland came out of the gates on a mission, starting with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first and the Scots scoring two runs (both with two outs) in their half of the inning. Johnson got hit by a pitch to lead the inning off before stealing second and advancing to third on a passed ball. An error on a fly ball from Ramsey Hale and an RBI single from Emily Sampson gave Scotland a 2-0 lead after an inning.
Avery Stutts would add three strikeouts in the top of the second before Scotland added three runs to their lead in the bottom of the inning. Khloe Radford got hit by a pitch to start the frame and advanced to second on a groundout from Addison Lewis. Three straight two-out hits (singles from Johnson and Dawson Blue as well as a double from Stutts) helped provide the three runs and a 5-0 advantage.
Stutts would again add three strikeouts to her total before the Scots piled on another five runs in the home half of the third. Scotland got three consecutive hits to start the inning, including a leadoff solo home run from Kinsey Hamilton as well as doubles from Radford and Addison Ratley to make it 7-0. Consecutive one-out RBI singles from Johnson and Blue and an RBI groundout from Stutts increased Scotland’s advantage up to 10.
After Richmond went down in order again in the top of the fourth, Scotland would get the additional five runs needed to complete the mercy rule in the bottom of the inning. Hamilton would leadoff the frame with a single and advance to second on a ground ball from Radford that resulted in an error. An RBI single from Ratley, a walk to Lewis, an RBI double from Johnson, a walk to Blue and a walk-off line drive by Stutts provided the necessary runs to finish the game.
Johnson led the Scots in hits and in RBIs with a 3-3 night at the plate with four RBIs and four runs scored. Stutts also had four RBIs and went 2-4.
Head Coach Adam Romaine was pleased to see Scotland’s bats remain hot after their performances at the Robeson County Slugfest. The Scots had 14 hits as a team on Tuesday.
“We kind of picked up the bats right where we left off in last week’s tournament,” Romaine said. “I was impressed with the way we adjusted and put the ball in play well tonight, ran bases well.”
Stutts pitched all four innings on the mound and had nine strikeouts against no walks while allowing just two hits. She threw 51 pitches (40 strikes) to the 13 batters she faced.
Scotland as the No. 1 seed will host Union Pines (who beat Hoke County 7-4 on Tuesday) on Thursday night in the Championship Game at 6 p.m. The Scots took both regular season matchups against the Vikings, the first one in Cameron back on March 11 in a 9-0 final as well as at home on April 4, also by a score of 9-0.
Despite Scotland’s recent dominance of conference opponents and having beaten Union Pines twice this season already, Romaine is not taking the Vikings lightly heading into Thursday night. Including Tuesday’s win over Hoke County, Union Pines has won seven games in a row.
“They’re a good batting lineup team,” Romaine said. “Their pitcher works the strike zone well and always gives us a rough go until we go through a couple times of the lineup.”