Staton’s walk-off seals the deal over William Monroe

ROBBY FLETCHER Sports Editor

Between some scintillating pitching, clutch plays coming from the outfield and timely hitting down the stretch, there were plenty of highlight-worthy moments from the Goochland softball team in its home matchup against William Monroe on March 17.

The one that will certainly stick out to the fans in attendance will undoubtedly be the one that ended the game, where in the additional inning needed to decide the game after a 2-2 deadlock in seven innings, senior Jayden Staton stepped up to the plate and connected on the pitch from Avery Shifflett that sent home sophomore Sadie Grimes for the winning run.

Grimes found her way to third base before that walk-off single thanks to a line drive single of her own followed by a run to second after junior Chelsey Farthing’s ground out.

It was a rewarding finish for the Bulldogs, who jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but saw that lead wiped away by a two-run fifth inning from the Dragons. Those two Goochland runs came off a hit by senior Madison Duke, who advanced to second on the throw while Grimes and Farthing made it home.

The Bulldogs had hitting success throughout the game, even if it didn’t amount to many runs aside from that opening two-run hitter and the game-winning single, with seven different players registering at least one hit. Grimes was the only player to record multiple hits.

At pitcher, Farthing pitched all eight innings and was excellent throughout from the mound, striking out batters at an insanely high rate with 14 on the evening while allowing five hits and two walks. It was a true do-it-all performance from the junior, who ensured the Dragons remained scoreless for prolonged periods of time while contributing as a batter on the offensive end.

The Dragons finally caught a break in the fifth, when an error by Staton allowed a double and a runner to score to cut the lead in half. Soon after, an RBI single tied things up and put the Bulldogs in the position of battling in a literal dogfight to the end.

Farthing and the defense really stepped up after losing the lead, with the pitcher tossing eight strikeouts from that point on and allowing just three batters to step up to the plate in two of the final three innings.

With the defense giving them chances to finish the job at home, Staton took advantage on the final appearance in front of the Dragons pitcher, giving the Bulldogs a big result in the win column to kick off their season.

In their next matchup, the Bulldogs will host the Western Albemarle Warriors on Thursday, March 23 at 6:30 p.m.