Pioneers thump

Patriots
From staff reports

MORGANTON — Watauga’s offense showed up in a big way Friday in the Pioneers’ 10-2 thumping of Freedom in a Northwestern 4-A Conference showdown.

The Pioneers (7-8, 4-4 NWC) banged out 16 hits against the Patriots (11-3, 5-2). Emily Baker went 3-for-3, while Chandler Butler, Nicole Reilly and Hannah Yates each went 2-for-4 from the plate.

Beth Wilson and Kayla Kincaid went 2-for-5. Wilson and Butler each had a double while Baker had a triple for the Pioneers.

“This was a huge win not only for this team, but this program,” Watauga coach Brian Vannoy said. “This is the best overall game we’ve played all season. Freedom came in ranked eighth in the state polls and we finally put it together against a very good team.”

Watauga led 2-1 going into the top of the fourth inning when it exploded for seven runs. Butler drove in two runs and Reilly drove in another to give the Pioneers a 5-1 lead.

The RBI singles kept coming. Yates drove in Butler with a single and Wilson singled to load the bases again.

Kincaid drove in Reilly with a single and Baker drove in Yates with a single, giving Watauga an 8-1 lead.

Katie Tester finished the rally with an RBI single to score Wilson, which gave Watauga a 9-1 lead.

Watauga added a run in the sixth inning on a Kelsey Rominger RBI single. All of Watauga’s starters had at least one hit.

“We finally broke out and put together back-to-back hits,” Vannoy said. “We’ve been hitting all year, but we haven’t been putting them together until (Friday). We were fortunate that Freedom had to pull the infield in during the fourth inning, because it allowed us to get some hits we might not have had otherwise.”

Taking advantage of Watauga’s offense was Pioneers pitcher Nicole Reilly, who scattered six hits and allowed two unearned runs in seven innings. She struck out eight and walked three.

“Nicole was awesome again tonight as was the entire defense,” Vannoy said. “We struggled down here Wednesday against Crest, but we rebounded and played a great defensive game.”

Watauga plays at McDowell Tuesday. The jayvees play at 4:30 p.m., while the varsity follows around 6:30 p.m.