Chargers score 10 runs in third to wallop Warriors

The Boerne Champion softball squad picked up a win Friday to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot with only two games left in the regular season heading into this week.

Champion defeated Pieper last Friday in Boerne, 13-5, and stands at 6-6 in 26-5A. The Chargers are 12-11-2 overall and visited Smithson Valley Tuesday before hosting Seguin Friday.

At 6-6, the Chargers are tied for fifth in the district standings with New Braunfels Canyon. Seguin is in fourth ahead of them at 7-5 so Friday’s meeting could be for a playoff spot.

The Chargers had a big third inning last Friday and scored 10 runs in the frame, including a Lillian Ritchie grand slam and a Mylie Parker 3-run homer to account for 7 of their 10 runs.

When the inning was over, Champion had sent 14 batters to the plate and recorded the 2 home runs, 6 singles and 2 walks, along with a fielder’s choice.

Champion’s 10-run frame helped them open up at 13-1 lead after they scored 3 in the first and Pieper had plated a run in the second.

The Warriors tallied 3 runs in the fourth to make it 13-4 to keep the mercy rule from kicking in and it stayed there until the seventh frame when Pieper added one more run for the final of 13-5.

The Chargers knocked out 15 hits, 5 of them for extra bases. Ritchie homered, doubled and singled, scored 3 runs and picked up 5 RBI, while Parker also homered, doubled and singled, and she scored 2 runs and collected 4 RBI.

Torin Tucker knocked out 4 singles and scored once, Dakota Salazar took 2 walks and scored a run, Abby Brehmer doubled, singled and walked, scored 3 runs and picked up an RBI, while Madison Coker singled, walked and scored a run.

Alison Kory crossed home plate once, Ryleigh LaRue singled, drove in 2 runs and scored, while Reese Rogers singled.

Ritchie and Parker both pitched in the game, with Ritchie going 4 innings and picking up the win on 54 pitches. She gave up 3 hits, 4 earned runs, didn’t walk a batter and struck out 4.

Parker tossed 3 frames and yielded a hit, no earned runs, 3 walks and sat down 2.