Lady Huskies Record Three Back-to-Back Wins

By Allison Canter

After falling to West Wilkes on Thursday, April 23, the Ashe County Ladies' Softball team charged forward,

claiming three victories on their home field.

On Thursday, April 23, the Lady Blackhawks of West Wilkes defeated Ashe 8-2 in West Jefferson.

According to Ashe County Head Coach Bill Key, West Wilkes is a really good team that has only lost two games all season.Key said that his girls did a good job of hitting, but were only able to get three hits and two runs the entire game. The Lady Huskies are working to improve their defensive game and have focused on that in practices.

During the loss to West Wilkes, Kendra Yearick held her own, striking out 12. Offensively, the team was led by Annie Hegar, Katie Thore and Tasha Faw, all who were one for three. Faw also had the two RBIs for the game.

On Friday, April 24, Ashe County hosted North Wilkes and came away with a 5-0 win, earning their first Mountain Valley Conference victory.

Ashe County took an early lead in the first inning, going up 3-0. Both teams remained scoreless in the second inning, but the Lady Huskies added one more in the third. The fifth inning saw the final run added to the board.

Key said that Yearick as pitcher and Hegar as catcher played a great defensive game against the batters. Yearick threw another 12 strikeouts and played a really good game, said Key. Defensively, shortstop Erin Covington also played well for Ashe, making some good catches and plays in the win.

On offense, Allison Powers was one for two and Yearick was two for two and both girls scored two runs each. Also leading Ashe offensively was Kim McNeil and Katie Thore, both one for three.

Key was very pleased with the girls' effort and proud of the 5-0 shutout.

On Monday night, April 27, the Lady Huskies hosted East Wilkes for a double header that got underway at 4:30 p.m. The teams played two five inning games and Ashe took both wins, 8-0 and 2-0, respectively.

In the first game, nearly every member of the Lady Huskies' team got on the books. Yearick went two for two while Covington, Bowlin and Chandler Christensen each went two for three. Covington and Bowlin scored two each and Christensen knocked in two RBIs. Hegar and Farmer each went one for three and Hegar added two RBIs.

On the defensive side, Key said Bowlin, Tasha Faw and Katie Thore all made good catches in the outfield. Yearick also pulled her weight in the win, striking out 10 batters.

In the second game of the double header, Ashe came up with another win, but didn't hit as well as they did in the first game, evidenced by the small score of 2-0.

Yearick led the team, playing a good game offensively and defensively. She had seven strike outs and went three-for-three at the plate. Hegar, McNeil and Christensen were all one for three while Farmer and Thore went one for two. Hegar and Farmer had one RBI each.

"We played good defense and did have a couple good hits," said Key. "We are really excited to get some wins. The good weather has helped as far as getting some practice and the nice weather has made it more enjoyable."

The Lady Huskies are scheduled to travel to Alleghany on Wednesday, April 29, for a varsity game, and will host Forbush on Friday, May 1, with a junior varsity and a varsity game scheduled.