Richmond’s Caitlin Kendrick fires a pitch during Tuesday’s high school softball game against Temple Academy. Kendrick struck out 14 Bereans en route to an 8-0 Bobcats victory. (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)
RICHMOND — With a handful of games already cancelled and rescheduled this spring, playing in between rain drops on Tuesday wasn’t all that far-fetched when Temple Academy made the trip to Richmond for a high school Class D softball match.
Richmond’s Caitlin Kendrick struck out 14 Bereans and the Bobcats offense took advantage of Temple miscues and timely hitting to win its first game of the season with an 8-0 victory.
“It’s always great to get a good win,” Richmond coach Tony Martin said, whose team plays at home against Valley on Wednesday at 4 p.m. “Keeping everyone’s mind in the game in weather like this is key — keep them focused and in the game.”
Each team went in order in the opening frame as Kendrick and Temple (4-2) pitcher Deleyni Carr each struck out a pair of batters.
Kendrick hit Juliette Quodbach to lead off the second, but she was erased attempting to steal as Kendrick struck out the next hitter.
The Bobcats struck quickly in the second when Bryannah Shea smacked a triple to right center and came around to score on a throwing error. The Bobcats plated another run after Ashley Brown came in to score on a couple of throwing errors during a successful steal of second base.
Paige Lebel and Leah Wescott each singled next for Richmond, with Wescott moving to second on a steal.
Carr fanned the next hitter, but Temple’s defense left the field believing there were three outs. With time not being called, both Lebel and Wescott came around to score for a 4-0 Bobcats lead.
Nicole Tribbet singled next and swiped two of Richmond’s 11 stolen bases in the game, coming around to score on another throwing error, giving Richmond a 5-0 lead.
“These girls haven’t played a lot on a dirt field so far this season, we play a lot of games at Colby College on turf, so it plays totally different,” Temple coach Kim Feugill said.
Meanwhile, Kendrick continue to shine in the circle by striking out the side in the third inning and retiring the Temple hitters in order in the fourth. The Bereans recorded their first hit of the game when Quodbach dropped a ball behind the drawn-in third baseman to lead off the fifth. However, she was stranded on first after Kendrick stuck out the next three hitters.
“For a cold rainy day, it’s hard to keep any pitcher warm and keep her focused,” Martin said. “She threw some balls and hit a batter but regained her focus and had help with a lot of talk behind her.”
Despite the wet conditions, Kendrick felt comfortable on the mound, recognizing the job at hand and keeping the visiting hitters off balance.
Richmond’s Ashley Brown rounds third base and scores after an errant throw goes into left field during the second inning of Tuesday’s high school Class D softball game in Richmond. The Bobcats downed the Bereans, 8-0. (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)
“It’s been a priority I pitch well this season to take some pressure off our young infield,” the senior said. “We try to keep them off balance, especially the good batters. We don’t want to give them anything good to hit so we try to work them over with my pitches.”
“There were some balls that were close because of the weather, but she got it together and threw strikes. She likes to work all of her pitches, keep them guessing,” added Kendrick’s catcher Shea.
The Bobcats plated three more runs in the fifth off a walk, hit batter and a two-run double from Bryanne Lancaster.
“It was nice to see the bats. We started hitting the ball once we adjusted to the strike zone and putting the ball in play,” Martin said. “We tell them ‘you have to go after the ball and not let it go by you.’ If you’re not swinging, you’re not going to get any hits. They got more aggressive as the game went on and that I was glad about. They learn something every game, they’re a good group of kids.”
The Richmond pitcher was happy to see some runs on the board, after dropping a pair to Buckfield to open the season (5-2, 8-5).
“It feels great to score runs, we pride ourselves on our offense and it’s really nice that we got the bats going today,” Kendrick said.
Richmond’s Leah Wescott throws the ball to first base during the fourth inning of Tuesday’s Class D high school softball game against Temple. (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)
Jaimee Feugill and Quodbach each singled in the seventh for Temple, but after Kendrick loaded the bases with another hit batter, she was able to induce a fielder’s choice and a strike out to end the game and preserve the shutout.
“We have 11 girls that have never played softball and I thought they did pretty well, holding their own against Richmond, who is always a strong team,” Coach Feugill said.
Carr finished with eight strikeouts, scattering five hits while walking three Bobcats.
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