The Avery Lady Vikings put together its most impressive performance of the season in a six-inning, 11-1 shellacking of the Thomas Jefferson Gryphons on Thursday evening at Avery High School.Avery gave up a single run in the top of the first frame, but quickly bounced back in the bottom of the inning to bat around the order and score seven runs. Leadoff hitter Kaylea Davis, as well as Becca Biggerstaff, Amber Clark, and Justina Rieger each rapped base hits for the Big Red. Brooke Buchanan plated a pair with a double in the inning, followed up with base hits from Sarah Dewitt, Beth Lewis, and Michelle Cuthbertson. Biggerstaff registered a second base hit in the inning as Avery took an early commanding lead.
From that point, the Lady Vikings starting battery of pitcher Becca Biggerstaff and catcher Haley Hicks found their groove. The pitch/catch combo worked like a well-oiled machine as Biggerstaff struck out five TJCA hitters and surrendered one hit in holding Gryphons scoreless over the next five innings.
Biggerstaff's pitching received plenty of help from the Avery defense who played error-free softball, turned a double play during the game, and gave no help to the overmatched Gryphon club.
"Becca pitched amazing today. There were a couple of innings where she was just lights out. She's pitched well all season, but this was probably her best game of the season," Avery softball head coach Stephen Bunger said after the win. "We played great defense and turned our first double play of the season. I was really happy with the defensive performance."
Avery continued scoring in the bottom of the second inning when Hicks led off with a base hit, followed by hits from Buchanan and Dewitt. Hicks and Buchanan each scored to stake Avery to a 9-1 edge.
Biggerstaff plated a run following a leadoff triple in the third inning to push the Lady Vikings ahead 10-1, and Buchanan scored a third run in the contest to bring the game to a close due to the ten-run mercy rule.
The Avery pitcher helped her own cause with four base hits and scored a pair of runs. Teammate Brooke Buchanan had a pair of hits and scored three times. Every Lady Viking had at least one base hit, and eight of the nine starters scored at least one run apiece in the rout.
"I think the Cloudland game gave us some confidence. Even though we didn't win that game we started hitting the ball, which I feel carried over into this game," Lady Vikings softball head coach Stephen Bunger said following the win. "We went up there swinging today, and it was one of those days where it seems like every hit found an open spot."The performance proved that the Avery Lady Vikings are a potential force to contend with for the remainder of the season as the squad makes a frantic push for a berth in this year's state softball playoffs.
"I think we're starting to come together and improve a lot. We're hitting the ball well now and doing good things on the bases. I think we're putting together a good run of things, and we're gonna keep working hard and keep trying to win some games," Coach Bunger said. "We've gotten unlucky on some things through the season, but this should give us confidence as we go into our next few games."
Avery is scheduled to host Hendersonville on Friday afternoon, weather permitting, and continues conference play next week.
