Sherk pressed into duty
The William Byrd softball team bounced back from a tough loss against Northside to pick up an 11-5 win at home against Staunton River Tuesday.
Spencer Biggs started on the mound for Byrd but came out with a sore arm and Byrd trailing 4-1. Biggs had doubled in a first inning run at the plate but River rallied for four in the top of the second and coach Greg Barton called on freshman Ashlee Sherk.
Byrd’s offense picked it up in the fourth inning. Rachel Guilliams led off with a single and Kassie Brammer and Danielle Powell followed with singles. Jordan Meador then doubled for the big blow of the inning and Byrd was off and running.
Sherk picked up the win in relief and pitched well. For the short term she’ll see a lot of action as Biggs has been hampered with a sore arm.
“We’re thinking all she needs is a little rest,” said Barton. “She’s pitched a lot of innings this year.”
Sherk is the only other pitcher on the varsity. She’s not as fast as Biggs, but neither throws heat like the Terriers got from graduated Jessica Mahoney the past few years. Luckily the Terriers have a good hitting team, and they figure to win more games 7-6 than 1-0 this season.
“If we hit the ball we’ll be okay, and we play good defense,” said Barton.
Brammer and Calena Waggoner both went four-for-four against Staunton River. Brammer is now hitting over .500 for the season, and the Terriers can hit the ball up and down the lineup. Unfortunately they weren’t on their best game last Friday when they played at district leader Northside, falling 10-2.
“We played hard, we just didn’t have a good game,” said Barton. “You have to play your best against a good team.”
Northside led 4-0 into the third but Byrd bounced back as Powell doubled and Biggs homered to cut the lead to 4-2 in the top of the fourth. However, Northside scored two in the bottom of the inning, then one in the fifth and three in the sixth to put it away. Biggs took the loss on the mound and Sherk finished up.
“They hit the ball hard,” said Barton. “They scored seven runs with two outs, and that’s what good teams will do.”
Byrd is now 10-3 overall and 3-1 in the BRD, and the Terriers will be at Rockbridge on Friday. Saturday the girls are at Hidden Valley for a non-district game and next Tuesday they begin the second half of the BRD season with a home game against Lord Botetourt.
