Sports

Hobbled Lady Chargers Drop Three on the Week

by Ken Brown

WINOOSKI – The Craftsbury Academy (CA) softball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to Winooski-Burlington last week before the injury bug hit in losses to Richford and Lake Region, dropping them to 1-5 on the season.

Gracie Mitchell went 3-4, including a game-winning two-run single in the bottom of the seventh to help the Spartans escape with an 18-17 home win over CA last Monday. Elza Sulejmani smacked a home run and a triple on her way to a five-hit day to power the offense. Abby Mitchell earned the win in the circle for Winooski-Burlington, striking out two and walking two in four innings of relief. Savannah Boyce led the Lady Chargers with a 4-6 performance, belting three doubles and scoring three runs. Alana Ulrich went 3-5 with a double and a triple, Ella Gillespie added three hits and three runs, and Ade Gillespie and Sadie Skorstad combined for four hits for CA in the loss.

“The girls played hard, hit the ball well, but we just weren’t able to hold them in the end. It was a back-and-forth game where if we were the home team I felt we could’ve pulled that one out,” said head coach Ashley Gravel.

Ella Chagnon and Kyrielle Deuso belted three hits apiece to lead the Richford offense in a 17-3 home win over the Lady Chargers on Thursday. Mikayla Chagnon, Maddie Smith, and Grace Ryea added two hits apiece for Richford and Sierra Derby struck out three to earn the win in the circle. Hayley Smith suffered the loss for CA before leaving with a shoulder strain and was relieved by Hazel Graham. The Lady Rockets improved to 7-2 on the season.

“Richford is a tough team, but we started well with a single by Savannah in the top of the first, but unfortunately she rolled her ankle on a play at second base and had to exit the game. She’s a big part of our offense and losing her and Hayley hurt moral, but Hazel came in and did a nice job after not pitching in a competitive game for two seasons. We dug ourselves a hole early in the bottom of the first inning, but the girls did a nice job of fighting and putting together some quality at bats late in the game,” said Gravel.

Lauren Legacy had three hits, including a three-run homer to lead Lake Region to a 19-3 road win over CA on Saturday. Mariah Bacon drove in six runs with a pair of triples and a double and Mya Ingalls added three hits and three runs in the win. Lyndsey Brown earned the win for the Lady Rangers, striking out two, while allowing just five hits. Jessalynn Gravel had two hits and Ade Gillespie and Ariana VanDyk had a hit and an RBI apiece in the loss for CA. Hazel Graham took the loss in the circle and drove in a run, going 1-3 on the day. Lake Region improved to 4-6 on the season.

“We lost Jessalynn to injury midway through the game and we were forced to play a lot of players out of position after a tough week of losing some of our key players. The girls continue to fight and not put their heads down and hopefully we can get back to full strength to finish off our schedule strong,” said Gravel.

The Lady Chargers were scheduled to travel to Northfield on Tuesday and will finish up their home and home with the Lady Marauders at Dustan Field on Friday. They will wrap up their busy week on the road with a match-up with Twinfield-Cabot-Danville on Saturday.

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