Parrott, Grampp Power Lady Pounders To 4-0 Softball Win In 6-AA

Red Bank and Central went into their District 6-AA softball game Thursday as unbeatens.

The Lady Pounders remained unblemished.

Riding the four-hit, 12-strikeout pitching performance of Brooke Parrott and a three-run homer by shortstop Alexis Grampp, Central posted a 4-0 victory over the Lady Lions.

The Lady Pounders improved to 11-6 overall and 4-0 in league play. Red Bank fell to 5-6, 2-1.

Parrott (6-3) was in complete command in going the distance against the rival Lady Lions.

She allowed just two hits over the first six innings before giving up back-to-back singles to Bri Whitlock and Hanna Land in the seventh.

But Taylor Bonds lined into a double play and Layla Babb lined out to Grampp to end the game.

“We were all pretty pumped coming into the game and were ready to play,” said Parrott, a right-handed sophomore who made life miserable on the Lady Lions’ first three batters.

Those three players – Destiny Painter, Lydia Dinard and Kelsey Peden – were a combined 1-for-9 and accounted for eight of Red Bank’s 12 strikeouts. Parrott fanned Dinard and Peden each three times.

“Twelve strikeouts is my season high,” Parrott said. “I was throwing lots of risers and screwballs. That’s pretty much my routine.”

Parrott had nine strikeouts after four innings. The only his she allowed in that stretch were singles to Painter in the third and Allison Walker in the fourth. Both were leadoff hits and Walker reached third with one out, but Parrott whiffed Land and Bonds to end the threat.

“She was on and in control of the game,” Central coach LeeAnn Shurette said of Parrott. “She kept getting big strikeouts to shut things down.”

Parrott set the tone for the showdown game by striking out three in the first inning. She retired the first two in the second before hitting Whitlock. Parrott then struck out Land.

With one out in the third, Parrott walked Layla Babb and gave up Painter’s single to left.

No sweat.

She struck out Dinard and Peden for the second time.

Threat over.

Parrott yielded Walker’s hit to left starting the third before striking out Kendall Farr. Whitlock hit into a fielder’s choice and both runners were safe when Farr beat the throw to third.

Quandary?

Not at all.

Land and Bond were strikeout victims. Those strikeouts started a string of eight straight outs ahead of the Whitlock and Land singles in the seventh.

“You’ve got to give to (Parrott),” Red Bank coach Mandi Munn said. “She’s a good little pitcher. We played a pretty good ballgame, but you’ve got to score some runs. We hit some balls hard, but they were right at them.”

Grampp certainly made Parrott’s day a bit easier, providing the early cushion that proved more than enough runs for the hard-throwing hurler.

“After the home run, I was more relaxed,” Parrott said. “I definitely like having an early lead like that.”

Grampp was happy to accommodate her teammate.

“I had gotten a riser and missed earlier,” Grampp said. “I expected it again and just happened to hit it out.”

It was Grampp’s third homer of the season.

Samantha Scott started the Lady Pounders’ first with a single to left field. Parrott’s sacrifice bunt moved her to second and Kaili Crawley followed with a single up the middle to put runners at the corners.

Then Grampp smashed her homer just to the left of the scoreboard in center field.

Walker retired Lexie Ainslie on a pop to short and Kerri Sylvester on a fly ball to center, ending the inning.

“We can’t do much about that homer,” Munn said. “She hit it where it was pitched. That was a good at-bat for her. Our girls have to keep swinging and find holes in the other team’s defense.”

Central loaded the bases with one out in the second when Emma Beach singled, Ally Welch walked and Scott reached on an infield hit. Parrott lined out to short and Crawley popped out to second as Walker escaped further damage.

The Lady Pounders’ Tatum Morgan singled off Land, who relieved Walker to start the third inning, to start the fourth.

Amanda Roy, running for Mogan, went all the way to third on  Beach’s sacrifice bunt and scored when an infield throw trying to nail the Central runner skipped into foul territory down the left-field line.

Central got one more hit – Sylvester’s one-out single to left in the seventh – but the lack of offense didn’t rise to the level of concern.

Thanks to Grampp.

“I would have been happier about that home run if I had known we weren’t going to hit much the rest of the game,” Shurette said. “We’re pretty strong one-through-nine in the lineup, but we hit some ‘at em’ balls out there today.

“This was a step in the right direction for this club in trying to get the No. 1 seed for the district tournament. We still have to play Hixson, too. We’ve just got to keep our focus.”

LINESCORE

Red Bank                          000 000 0 – 0 4 1

Central                              300 100 x – 4 7 1

Walker, Land (3) and Simpson; Parrott and Crawley.

(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)