MACON — Central Academy catcher Blake Rigdon has a had a lot of great memories playing softball for the Lady Vikings.
With her senior year now under way, she is convinced the good times do not need to stop now.
“We have had a lot of accomplishments and a lot of good teams,” Rigdon said. “We have had some really good seasons. I am not about to let that go now. Since I am a senior, I want this to the best year possible. I want to leave a mark and I want people to remember this team.”
So far, so good.
Behind two hits by Rigdon, Central Academy erased an early deficit and rolled to a 10-3 victory over Starkville Academy in its fast-pitch season opener Monday afternoon.
The Lady Vikings only collected three base hits in the victory. However, Central Academy was patient enough to accept 12 walks and a hit batsman.
“I didn’t think we had a great game offensively,” Central Academy coach Sammy Lindsey said. “We really didn’t hit like we are capable of hitting. At the same time, they gave us some things and we took advantage of them. I thought we ran the bases extremely well.”
The Lady Vikings play an up-tempo style of softball and try to use speed to their advantage. At any type of opening, a player darts toward the next base. Such offensive chaos led to two runs being scored on a routine ground ball out. In another instance, a putout attempt at third base resulted in a throw going into left field instead, allowing another run to score.
“We are really fast,” Rigdon said. “We have some sixth graders on the team and that is what we are already trying to teach them. We like to run, run, run. Sometimes, that forces the other team into mistakes. I think we really do a good job of being aggressive and that was the case today.”
Starkville Academy (1-1) actually built a 3-2 lead in the second inning on back-to-back infield errors by Central Academy. The Lady Vikings erased that deficit by scoring three runs on no base hits in the second inning and five runs on one base hit in the third inning. In the five-run third inning, Rigdon had the big blow in the inning with a two-run double and later capped her time on the bases by stealing home.
“We made some mistakes in the field early and that hurt us,” Lindsey said. “No matter how many games you play, there is always some nervousness for that first game in the season. You could feel that in the circle, as well. Courtney (Gaylord) really struggled early. But once she found a rhythm, she was really good.”
Gaylord, a sophomore, went the distance in the circle, retiring 11 of the final 12 Lady Volunteers she faced.
“I just had to get settled down,” Gaylord said. “My teammates have confidence in me. They just told me to settle down and they would score some runs. I felt really good after the first couple of innings.”
For Starkville Academy, sophomore Karlie Lockhart went the distance, as well. After pitching a complete-game in a 10-4 victory over Oak Hill Academy Friday, the magic was not duplicated as the high number of base runners proved too much to overcome. The Lady Volunteers also had three hits, including a pair of hits by sophomore catcher Adrianne Futral.
“We are really a close team,” Gaylord said. “We do everything together. After just missing (the state tournament) last season, we have been looking forward to getting this season started. Even though we still have a lot of young players, this team has a lot of heart. It feels good to win the first one.”
A busy week continues for both teams.
Central Academy will travel to Oak Hill Academy for a contest today before returning home to host Heidelberg Academy Thursday night.
Starkville Academy will return to action Thursday when it hosts Pillow Academy at 2 p.m. Thursday in the home opener.
Starkville Academy and Central Academy both play in Saturday’s SA Invitational, which begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Starkville Sportsplex.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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