Pritchard helps Concord softball stay hot

Senior Rachel Pritchard struck out 14 and held Conrad to two hits as Concord won 10-2 on Saturday.

Senior Rachel Pritchard struck out 14 and held Conrad to two hits as Concord won 10-2 on Saturday.

BRANDYWINE HUNDRED – Concord was a .500 team halfway through the season. But on Saturday, the Raiders showed they will be one of at least a dozen dangerous teams when the DIAA Softball Tournament begins in two weeks.

Senior Rachel Pritchard struck out 14 and Concord banged out 12 hits to easily handle Conrad 10-2. The Raiders were 4-4 at one point, but have won six of their last seven to jump to 10-5.

“We’re just striving to win the rest of our games,” Pritchard said. “We came out a little slow in the beginning of the season, but I think we’re definitely doing well.”

Concord was definitely doing well in the second inning, when five hits and three Redskins errors added up to five runs. Olivia Christy and Eryn Bailey each had an RBI single during the outburst as the Raiders took a 5-0 lead.

“We’ve sort of jelled together, getting those clutch hits in those big moments,” Concord coach Kelly Waslyn said. “We’re doing what we need to do.”

The Raiders scored three more in the third, the big blow coming when Sarah Raab’s single drove in two and an error on the same play cleared the loaded bases.

“I saw the pitch coming in, and next thing I knew it was going down past third base and I just ran,” Raab said.

Pritchard took it from there, getting at least one strikeout in every inning and striking out the side in the second and sixth.

“I threw mostly screwballs, but I also had the rise going a little bit today,” the right-hander said.

Conrad (12-3) had scored at least six runs in 12 of its first 14 games, but the Redskins couldn’t solve Pritchard. Conrad’s only rally came in the fourth, when Pritchard hit Isabelle Troise and Skyler Poore and Nicole Erhart drove them home with a double to deep center.

“She is moving the ball around, putting the ball where it’s supposed to be,” Waslyn said of Pritchard. “She’s keeping the batters off-stride. She’s been doing a great job.”

Raab, Bailey, Pritchard, Alyson Fox and Shelly Johnson each had two hits for Concord, including a triple by Fox and a double by Pritchard.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.