The Richmond Hill and Bryan County softball teams both have three-game winning streaks as they prepare to enter the meat of their region schedules.
The Redskins have scored in double figures in each of their past three wins, beating Jenkins and Savannah Christian by identical 10-3 scores before downing Portal 17-13 last week.
Bryan County collected 14 hits against Portal, including four from Daxne Carerra and three from Shelby Barfield.
The Redskins beat Metter 6-1 earlier in the week. Alisha Fabin had three hits and an RBI, while Barfield had two hits and two RBIs. Audrey Williams also had two RBIs.
Bryan County Coach Al Butler said he was pleased his team bounced back to beat Metter for its first Region 2-AA win, especially after dropping a 12-1 loss to Vidalia the previous week.
“It’s not so much that we won, but mentally the way we approached the game,” he said. “Especially considering we had two players out with injuries.”
The Redskins are now 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the region. They play four consecutive region games before facing Savannah Christian again.
“We’re young, but we don’t have the luxury of playing like a young team,” Butler said. “Saying that and doing it though are two different things. We make some silly mistakes, but the good thing is they don’t repeat them.”
Butler said he’s been especially pleased with his team’s consistency at the plate. Coaches measure “quality at-bats,” which take into account things such as hard hit balls, successful bunts, moving runners over, walks and hit by pitch.
“It’s all the things necessary to score runs and win games,” he said.
Barfield, Hewitt, Carerra and Hannah Dickerson are all above 65 percent on the measurement, and the team as a whole is at 55 percent. Butler said the goal is to be at or above 60 percent.
Richmond Hill, meanwhile, went 3-1 at a tournament over the weekend, picking up two wins against Northgate and one against Thomas County Central while dropping a 3-0 decision to East Coweta despite eight strikeouts from pitcher Alaina Lucas.
The Wildcats collected 14 hits in a 13-0 defeat of Northgate. Cheznie Schuman was 3-for-3 with five RBIs, while Lucas, Hayley Taylor and Maddie Gorsuch each had two hits. Katie Snyder picked up the win on the mound.
Adriana Garrett then went 2-for-3 while Brianna Harrison drove in two runs in a 3-1 win against Northgate. Richmond Hill finished the weekend with a 6-4 win over Thomas County Central behind two RBIs from Schuman and one each from Harrison, Garrett and Kyra Byrd.
Richmond Hill is now 4-3 and plays six consecutive Region 2-AAAAAA games against Bradwell Institute and Glynn Academy.