Staff Reports

TOAST — The baseball team isn’t the only one loading up on strikeouts at Starmount High this spring.

The Rams have a softball pitcher in freshman Courtney Groce who is able to wrack up the K’s in the Tyler Jackson range.

Groce struck out 18 on Wednesday night, helping the Rams beat North Surry 3-1 on the road. The Greyhounds managed just two hits against the right-hander.

Groce improved to 6-0 on the season, helping Starmount improve to 5-0 in the Mountain Valley 2A Conference. North Surry dropped to 2-4.

After four scoreless innings, the Rams scored two runs with two outs in the top of the fifth frame. Brittany White singled, then Rebecca Aplin followed with a single behind her.

White stole third base, putting runners on the corners. Maygan Baldwin then dropped down a perfect bunt to score White, moving Aplin to third and getting herself safely on at first.

Aplin then came home on a passed ball.

Starmount added an insurance run in the sixth. Chelsea Varner tripled over the right fielder’s head. Jana Matthews batted her home with a sacrifice fly.

North Surry’s lone run came in the bottom of the sixth. Raven Medina tripled to lead off and came home on a fielder’s choice.

Starmount’s suffered its first loss of the season on Thursday night, losing a non-conference duel with defending 1A state champion East Surry 14-1. The Cardinals scored nine runs in the third inning, turning a 4-1 lead into a 13-1 cushion.

The defeat dropped the Rams to 12-1 overall.

Morgan Chilton hit a first-inning home run for East Surry, while Paige Honeycutt homered in the top of the fifth. Chilton finished 3-for-4 with five RBIs. Courtney Simmons also had a three-hit night, scoring three times.

The Rams managed just five hits against East Surry pitcher Ana Mitchell, scoring their lone run in the bottom of the second inning.

Jessica White led off the inning with a double. Nichole Hutchens singled to move White’s courtesy runner to third base. The run eventually came home on a stolen base attempt by Hutchens.

Chelsea Varner also had a double for Starmount.

Aplin took the pitching loss, her first of the season.

FORBUSH 2, SURRY CENTRAL 0: Pitcher Chelsea Craddock put together a strong performance on the mound but found no help on the scoreboard, as the Golden Eagles continued a 26-inning scoreless streak.

Central coach Phil Bowers said he thinks his team’s woes at the plate are mental than anything else.

“It’s not that we don’t work on hitting, but I think right now it’s in the girls minds,“ he said. “We’ve just got to snap out of that. When your pitcher just gives up two runs you’ve got to score some runs for her.”

Forbush pitcher Jessica Dzeskewicz proved tough for Central, finishing with a four-hit shutout.

Forbush took the lead with one out and runners on second and third in the top of the second inning after Craddock opted to go directly to first base on a dribbler hit back to the pitcher’s mound instead of looking the runner back, allowing the Forbush base runner a pass to home plate.

Forbush picked up another run off a Haley Pardue home run in the top of the seventh inning.

Central was able to place runners in scoring position twice during the game but could not push across any runs.

The loss is the fifth straight for the Golden Eagles after a strong 4-2 start.

MOUNT AIRY 10, EAST WILKES 9: East Wilkes exploded for five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game 7-7 but couldn’t come all the way back.

Mount Airy’s Rachel Harris led off with a double on an 0-2 count in the seventh, then moving to third on a Sara Harris sacrifice bunt. Pitcher Kourtney Wagoner then doubled to score Harris, followed by a single by Courtney Issacs to score Wagoner and give the Bears a 9-7 lead.

The Bears Elizabeth Ballard then knocked a base hit, pushing Issacs towards home, with the East Wilkes third basemen being called for obstruction as she hindered Issacs while rounding third, automatically awarding her a free pass to the plate and the Bears a 10-7 lead.

Issacs run from the obstruction call would prove to be huge in the final outcome, as Mount Airy held off another East Wilkes rally to snatch the 10-9 win.

“East Wilkes is a team that is not going to give up on us,” Mount Airy coach Olivia Bolden said. “They battled back and had a big rally inning in the top of the seventh. The girls knew it was do or die. They had to get hits or go home. It was huge for all of our girls to not give up and to come through with some really clutch hits.

“The last time we played East Wilkes and they came back in the fifth and had another big rally inning. The girls remembered that feeling and definitely wanted to win bad enough to make something happen. We were fighting till the very last out.”

Anna Litschke hit a triple for East Wilkes. Emily Minton and Brittany Cleary hit doubles. Kary Durham suffered the pitching loss.

Starmount 3, North Surry 1

Wednesday • at Toast

Starmount 000 021 0 — 3 8 1

North Surry 000 001 0 — 1 2 1

WP: Courtney Groce (6-0); LP: Brooke Graves

3B: SHS — Chelsea Varner; NS — Raven Medina

Leading Hitters: SHS — Rebecca Aplin 1-2, 1 run; Maygan Baldwin 2-2, 1 RBI

East Surry 14, Starmount 1

Thursday • at Boonville

East Surry 229 01 — 14 16 1

Starmount 010 00 — 1 5 5

WP: Ana Mitchell; LP: Rebecca Aplin (6-1)

2B: SHS — Chelsea Varner, Jessica White

3B: ES — Courtney Simmons (2);

HR: ES — Morgan Chilton, Paige Honeycutt