Jeff Moeller, sports correspondent

Richmond Hill's softball team has high aspirations for a deep playoff run this season, but unfortunately the Wildcats suffered an 8-1 defeat to Glynn Academy in its opener Monday.

Glynn Academy struck for four runs in the second and staked themselves to a 5-1 lead. They added a pair of runs in the fourth before they closed out the game in the fifth.

Richmond Hill had eight hits overall, led by Ashella Matias, who had a pair. Gessilyn Clark and Scarlett Parkerson were on the mound for the Wildcats.

Head coach Chris Jenkins didn’t see what he had anticipated. The Wildcats are back in action Thursday, hosting Pinewood Christian.

“There were not many highlights,” said Jenkins. “We started off the game on a positive note by loading the bases with nobody out, but were only able to scratch across one run.

“It was all downhill after that, with not one aspect of the game being performed up to our standards. But we have confidence that we will learn from the mistakes and be better in the long run.”

Maggie Reynolds, who was 0-for-1 with the lone RBI, saw the experience as a building block.

“The team and I didn’t do very well overall,” said Reynolds. “I would say that it was a learning experience for us. From here on out, we can know what to expect and not get down on ourselves throughout games when things get tough.”

Lennon Monaco, who was 0-for-2, believed the game got out of control early.

“It wasn't an ideal first game, but I think we're slowly getting back into the groove and finding our rhythm as a team,” said Monaco. “Starting off, we had very good and productive bats. After that, it snowballed, and we weren't able to put the ball into play as consistently as we needed.

“We had a couple of errors that I think were just hard to come back from as a team. Those mistakes made it tough to regain focus and shift the energy in our favor.”

Annalyah Estevez, who went 0-for-2, is confident her team can rebound.

“As a team, we made a few mental mistakes and hit the ball decently,” said Estevez. “After yesterday’s game, I think we’ve reflected and are going to come back and work harder for our next game.”