By Shawn Stinson
Members of the Pendleton County softball team will be forced to be road warriors if they want to continue their season.
Pendleton (10-11) earned the No. 5 seed in the Class A Region II Section 1 tournament. Pendleton was scheduled to open play on May 3 against East Hardy, the No. 4 seed, in Baker. East Hardy captured the first matchup between the two schools 7-6 on March 22 in Baker. The Lady Wildcats gained a bit of revenge by posting 14-2 win against the Lady Cougars on April 12 in Franklin.
The winner will face top-seeded Petersburg on May 4 in Petersburg. The loser of the Pendleton-East Hardy clash will face the loser of the other opening round matchup between No. 3 seed Tucker County and No. 4 Moorefield.
The winner’s bracket final is set for May 5 at the site of the higher seed. The winner of the loser’s bracket contest will take on the losing team of the Petersburg vs. the winner of the Pendleton-East Hardy matchup.
The Lady Wildcats closed out their regular season by posting two wins and two losses in the final week.
Petersburg posted an 11-3 victory against Pendleton in five innings on April 26 in Franklin. The Lady Vikings seized control of the contest by scoring four runs in the top of the fourth inning. Petersburg swept the season series with Pendleton.
Avery Townsend recorded two hits, including a double to pace the Lady Wildcats’ offense. Keira Gardner, Ashton Hess, Amanda Smith and Ally Vance all notched a base hit in the loss.
Petersburg scored three runs in the top of the first before Pendleton battled back to plate two runs in the bottom of the second. The Lady Vikings added a single run in the top of the third to grab a 4-2 lead. Petersburg scored three more runs in the top of the fifth and Pendleton scored once in the frame.
Pendleton got back to its winning ways the next day by cruising to a 23-2 three-inning win against Tygarts Valley in Mill Creek. Vance slugged a home run for the Lady Wildcats in the victory.
Pendleton opened the contest by scoring 11 runs in the top of the first. It added nine runs in the top of the second and three more in the third. Tygarts Valley scored both of its runs in the bottom of the second.
Vance and Lizzie Alt pitched for the Lady Wildcats.
Pendleton coach Charlie Padgett said his squad took advantage of walks, hit batters, passed balls and wild pitches to claim the easy victory.
Moorefield claimed a 16-1 win against Pendleton in four innings on April 28 in Franklin. The victory allowed Moorefield to claim wins in the season’s three matchups.
Hess and Townsend had one hit for the Lady Wildcats.
Pendleton closed out its regular season by downing Tygarts Valley 15-3 on April 29 in Franklin. Alt, Isabella Lockard and Vance pitched in the contest for the Lady Wildcats.
Gardner notched two hits in the victory. Kate Hedrick and Vance both had home runs for Pendleton.
