BASSETT — Five games. Four days. No problem.
The Halifax County softball team wrapped a hectic week with an 11-3 win over Bassett in Piedmont District action Wednesday evening.
Playing its fifth game since Monday, Halifax (15-3, 7-0 Piedmont) showed little rust against the Bengals, especially in the third and fourth innings where the Comets broke open a close game with a combined seven runs.
Senior Jadyn Harlow played a big role in the rally, smacking her third home run in two days, a two-run shot to center field in the top of the fourth, on her way to a game-high five RBIs. Harlow homered twice in Halifax’s game against Bassett Wednesday night.
“I’ve really just been looking for base hits, not looking to hit a home run but they’re nice,” Harlow said. “But it’s been motivating to have my teammates behind me. When you’re running around the bases and they’re at home yelling, ‘bring it home, bring it home,’ it’s really a motivational tool. It’s a good feeling and makes you want to keep going.”
The Comets have now won six in a row with five of those wins coming this week. This week, Halifax has defeated its opponents by a combined average of 11.8 runs per game while averaging 14 runs per game and giving up 3.7 per game.
“It’s really been the whole team,” Harlow said of the Comets’ mental tenacity this week. “Some of us have gotten tired, we’ve felt like we’ve had enough for the week, we needed a break, and we would come behind each other like, ‘hey, we got one more down, we can do it, just a few more, then we can get a break for the weekend.’ And I think all of us pushing each other have helped us get through this week.”
“It took the whole team to get through this week, our big players have stepped up and helped us get through this week,” said junior Emma Payne.
Harlow led Halifax with game-highs of three hits and five RBIs while senior Kamyria Woody-Giggetts smacked two hits and recorded two steals. Woody-Giggetts, senior Shamya Hankins, junior Abby Duffer, sophomore Avarie Bowen and junior Emma Shepperd drove in a run apiece.
Payne picked up the win in the circle, giving up two hits and three runs – none earned – while striking out eight in seven innings pitched.
“It’s great, I was just working on trying to stay consistent and throw strikes,” Payne said. “But a long week, our other pitchers really had to step up and it took the entire pitching staff to get through the week and they really stepped up. Five wins is great.”
Payne expressed her pride in the Comets’ entire pitching staff.
“I couldn’t be more proud,” she said. “I know they were a little nervous coming in because they didn’t know what to expect and they came out and did it. They were throwing pitches, hitting their spots, I was really impressed.”
Halifax got out to the early lead, scoring a run in the top of the first inning. Payne worked a one-out walk to get things going and Hankins followed with a single to left field to put runners on first and second. Harlow didn’t stand on ceremony, bringing Payne home with her single to right to make it 1-0.
Bassett (10-7, 5-5) struck back in its half, scoring two runs to take the lead. Senior Trinity Gilbert worked a one-out walk and stole second base to start the rally and junior Zoie Pace reached on an error on her flyball to put runners on the corners. Junior Breanna Cooper knotted the score at 1-1 with her RBI ground out to first and senior Camryn Martin put the Bengals in front with her RBI single to center.
The Bengals pushed their lead to 3-1 when senior Gracie Ratcliff scored on an error on sophomore Shaniyah Menefee’s bunt.
It would be the last time Bassett led as the Comets struck for three runs in the third to take the lead for good. Woody-Giggetts kicked the rally off with a lead-off walk and proceeded to steal second base to get into scoring position. She advanced to third on a wild pitch and came home to score on an error on Hankins’ groundball to short to pull Halifax within one. Harlow knotted the score with her double to right that plated Payne and Duffer scored Hankins with the go-ahead run on her ground out to first.
The fourth inning proved to be the difference, though, as the Comets scored four runs in the frame to create space. Freshman Hannah Abbott scored on an error on Bowen’s bunt single and Harlow capped the rally with her three-run blast to center that made it 8-3.
Halifax kept things rolling with a pair of runs in the fifth on Bowen’s RBI ground and Woody-Giggetts run-scoring single that pushed the Comets’ lead to 10-3 moving into the back three.
Shepperd rounded out the scoring in the seventh on her RBI groundout to short.
Halifax returns to action Monday when it hosts Nottaway in a doubleheader starting at 4:30 p.m.
