Hilton Head High softball finished 2-2 over the weekend to begin the 2022 season, falling to Wando and Summerville 15-6 and 16-0 on Friday before rebounding Saturday to defeat Beaufort High and Goose Creek 12-0 and 16-9 at the Battle of the Bases tournament at Wescott Park in North Charleston.
The Seahawks took an early 3-2 lead against Wando thanks to back-to-back doubles from Edy McGoldrick and Reagan Marchant, but the Warriors rattled off eight runs in the top of the second to take command at 10-3. Hilton Head High tacked on a pair of runs in the third on a passed ball, but the ‘Hawks couldn’t slow down Wando’s bats in the 15-6 defeat.
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The pitching struggles continued in the second game of the day against Summerville, as the Green Wave jumped on the Seahwks early for six runs in the top of the first and two more in the second before a two-run homer capped off an eight-run third to finish off the run-rule decision. Marchant tallied the Seahawks’ only hit in the ballgame.
Hilton Head High bounced back in its first game Saturday with a masterful performance from pitcher Delcie Swift to shut down familiar foe Beaufort High. The Seahawks exploded for 10 runs on eight hits in the bottom of the first inning, including a pair of Marchant RBI knocks and a Jayden Lopko run-scoring double. Marchant continued her stellar hitting in the bottom of the third, lining a single into left field before McGoldrick scored on an error and Marchant touched the plate on a passed ball to go up 12-0.
Swift finished up her dominant outing in the fourth, retiring three batters on ground balls to seal the complete-game shutout. The junior allowed just one hit and one walk in four frames while picking up three strikeouts. Beaufort High’s Jayla Champion had the Eagles’ only base hit.
After Hilton Head High and Goose Creek traded two runs apiece to begin the weekend finale Saturday, the Seahawks put up another monster frame with 12 runs in the second inning. Marchant and Shaina Lugo led the dozen-run outburst, collecting two hits each while combining to drive in four runs. The Gators fought back with three runs in the second and four in the third, but it wasn’t enough to erase Hilton Head High’s massive lead as the Seahawks held on 16-9.
Lugo also picked up the win in the circle, pitching all three innings and allowing three earned runs with four strikeouts.
Marchant led the Seahawk offense over the weekend, going an incredible 9-for-11 with a double and four RBIs. Alexandra Fisher impressed with a 6-for-9 weekend and three RBIs, McGoldrick was 4-for-9 with three runs driven in, and Lopko finished 4-for-7 with a double and three walks.
Beaufort dropped all four of its games in the tournament, also falling to Timberland (3-0), Stratford (14-2), and Goose Creek (9-3). The Eagles were hurt by sloppy defense behind ace Kylie Rast, who allowed 17 runs but only three earned runs in nine innings of work.
Riley Brozek, Kyrsten Cruikshank, Rast, and Arianna Smith each had two hits on the weekend to lead the Eagles, while Rast had the only extra-base knock with a double against Stratford and Smith had a team-high two RBIs.
Hilton Head High (2-2) hosts Thomas Heyward on Tuesday. Beaufort plays at Battery Creek on Monday.
By Wes Kerr
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