Veterans softball defeats Perry 11–4 in county rival rematch

PERRY – The Veterans Lady Warhawks continued their undefeated start in their win Thursday against the Perry Lady Panthers.

Led on both sides of the field by Kharisma “Rizzy” White, Veterans paired their hot bats with a steady defense to bring home the win. However, Perry’s late effort made the rivalry game closer than the 11-4 final score indicated.

Emma Rose Wood started in the circle for the Panthers, and from the first at-bat, the Lady Warhawks already had her number. Despite plenty of contact, Warhawks were held scoreless in the first, stranding two.

White started pitching for Veterans. Perry proved in the first that they were going to put the bat on the ball, but the Veterans’ defense held strong and the score was 0-0 at the end of the first.

The top of the second was a huge inning for the Lady Warhawks. A pair of doubles and a single scored two for Veterans. With two outs and a runner on second, an error on a routine infield popup scored another for the Lady Warhawks. With one runner on, White shot a two-run home run to dead center. The three extra runs after the error put Veterans up 5-0 going to the bottom of the second.

The Lady Panthers managed to get one on in the bottom of the second but were stopped again.

After an uneventful third inning, Rayven Hodridge reached first on a base-hit bunt in the top of the fourth. Then, The Lady Warhawks’ White smacked her second two-run home run over the centerfield fence, putting the Lady Warhawks up 7-0.

The bottom of the fourth was a tough inning for the Lady Panthers. They took advantage of a walk and two hits to score their first run and put runners on first and third. However, poor baserunning decisions got both of these runners picked off to end the inning with the score at 7-1.

After allowing one run in the top of the fifth, The Lady Panthers rallied their bats on the tiring White. With three hits and a walk, the Lady Panthers loaded the bases while scoring a run. With the bases loaded White walked in a run and was pulled and replaced by Cadence Scott. She got out of the jam by pitching a slow ground ball to Third baseman Maddy Kinkade, making the score 8-3 at the end of the inning.

After retiring the side at the top of the sixth, The Lady Panthers Chipped away at the Veteran’s lead by scoring one.

At the top of the seventh, The Lady Warhawks discouraged any Panther comeback by scoring three. This was led by a Bella Finley two-run homerun (her first High School longball). However, In the bottom of the seventh, The Lady Panthers loaded the bases, refusing to quit. Another stand from Veterans held Perry scoreless in the seventh. The final score was 11-4.

What decided this game was Verterans’ ability to execute defensively with runners in scoring position. Perry did mostly everything right to get runners in place to score, but the Lady Warhawk defense stood strong time and time again. 

Today Charisma “Rizzy” White stood out for the Lady Warhawks. Her four solid innings pitched alongside two of her three hits being home runs gave the Warhawks the energy needed to power through a clawing Lady Panther team. Veterans Coach Jeff Sans commented on her performance:

“Rizzy has been struggling a little bit … she has been pulling out a little bit, a little uncomfortable, but tonight she stayed in the box and you can see what happens when she stays closed a long time. She’s got a lot of power.”

UP NEXT

Next week the Lady Warhawks are on the road to battle the Coffee Lady Trojans next Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 5:00 p.m. This is Veterans’ first region matchup of the season.