Peyton Lane homers, strikes out 9 to keep Martin County undefeated
WILLIAMSTON, N.C. — Peyton Lane appeared to do it all on Tuesday for Martin County softball.
The senior belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth and struck out nine in a shutout of Perquimans to win 2-0 and stay atop the Four Rivers 1A/2A Conference.
But that's only how it might appear in the box score.
In the top of the sixth, Lane needed some help, and her teammates came up big for Martin County (15-0, 6-0), ranked second in the 252 area code.
Perquimans (13-5, 6-1), ranked 10th in the 252, got its first two batters on base with nobody out in a 0-0 ball game. But Martin County responded by snagging two fly balls that appeared to be falling into the gap, and Lane finished off the inning with a strikeout.
The defense is a big reason why Martin County has allowed just nine runs all year, and they made several solid defensive plays during Lane's two-hit effort, making no errors in helping Lane lower her ERA to 0.44 for the year.
For Perquimans, which has used four different pitchers at least 17 innings this year, Addison Stallings got the start and scattered five hits. The only mistake that came back to bite happened when Lane came to bat in the bottom of the sixth, Martin County had a runner on second with nobody out.
Lane's blast over the left field wall was enough to get past the Pirates on Tuesday, but it's a quick turnaround. The two will play again in Hertford, N.C. on Friday to complete the season series.
Should Perquimans win, it wouldn't affect playoff projections too much despite the strong likelihood of a co-conference championship for both. Martin County, in its first year of play as the consolidated athletics program representing still-active Riverside and South Creek high schools, is 2A while Perquimans is 1A.
