CRAFTSBURY – The Craftsbury Academy (CA) softball team broke into the win column in a big way last week with wins over Lamoille, Paine Mountain, and Winooski/Burlington, improving to 3-7 on the season.
Hazen’s Gracie Crown had a pair of hits and scored four times to lead the Lady Chargers to their first win of the season at home against Lamoille last Tuesday 17-14. A six run second inning gave CA an early 8-0 lead. Starting pitcher Savanah Boyce hung on to earn the win in the circle.
Adelina Augsberger and Hazen’s Sarah Collier combined for four hits and six runs. Ashley Wescom had a hit and scored a pair of runs and Quinn Sheldon suffered the loss as the Lady Lancers fell to 1-11.
“Our defense has been pretty strong all season, but I knew we needed to improve offensively if we were going to get that first W. We took a field trip to the Strike Zone in Essex as a team and not only did it build confidence, it helped strengthen relationships as we worked on strategy and basic fundamentals we needed to get back to,” said head coach Ashley Gravel.
Gravel’s squad celebrated Senior Night in style on Thursday, avenging a loss to Paine Mountain earlier in the season with a 11-8 win at Dustan Field.
The newly ignited CA offense struck for five runs in the first before Paine Mountain stormed back to take a 6-5 advantage.
The home team took the lead for good with five more runs in the second and third innings behind two hits and two runs each from Sadie Skorstad, Sophia Augsberger, and Peoples Academy’s Emily Hoffman.
Boyce won her second straight start, fanning 9, and added a pair of hits to help her own cause.
Skorstad, Augsberger, Collier, and Haley Smith were honored before the game for their outstanding high school careers.
Courtney Townsend belted a pair of doubles for Paine Mountain in the loss as they fell to 1-10.
Hazen’s Serenity Leach earned her first varsity win in the circle, fanning 7 as the Lady Chargers made it three in a row with an 11-4 home win over Winooski/Burlington on Saturday.
Collier powered the offense with a pair of hits and three runs scored. Gracie Crown had a hit and scored twice and Ginger Crown scored a pair of runs in the win.
Khloe Farnham took the loss and had a pair of hits for Winooski/Burlington.
“Winning for our seniors on Senior Night was some icing on the cake. These ladies have a fire under them right now and are approaching the game with confidence and not cockiness, which is important to remember. It was really nice to see as a coach the camaraderie amongst the team and finish off the week with a third straight win with everyone getting playing time on Saturday. I’m excited to see what Thursday brings,” said Gravel.
CA wraps up the regular season on the road against Twinfield-Cabot-Danville(CCSU) at Danville on Thursday.
