[3/28/03]St. Aloysius took the softball merry-go-round for a spin on Thursday and rode it all the way to a victory.

St. Al had only three hits, but drew 10 walks from Richland pitcher Brandie Westerfield and took advantage of five errors by the Lady Rangers (1-4) to score an 11-0 win.

Laura Beth Lyons drove in two runs with a double, walked three times and scored two runs for St. Al (7-1), and Mary Myers Franco was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and two runs scored. Pitcher Sarah Kerut shut Richland down, allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out six.

Brittany Myers was 2-for-2 with a double for Richland.

The win was an easy one for St. Al, but it wasn’t quite what coach Gene Rogillio had been hoping for. He said his team has struggled offensively lately, and he would have liked to have seen more hitting by the Lady Flashes.

“Offensively, we’re not hitting the ball like we’ve got to. We’re going to have to start hitting the ball better that what we’ve been,” Rogillio said, adding that Saturday’s games at the Clinton tournament would give St. Al a good test. “We play Brandon at 8 o’clock in that tournament on Saturday, and that’s going to determine what kind of ballteam we have.”

After a scoreless first inning, St. Al batted around in the second and blew the game open with a five-run rally. Four walks, including one to Candice Park with the bases loaded, and Lyons’ double to the fence in left field keyed the rally.

“We waited (Westerfield) out. She’s got a little speed, but like any other young kid like that she just getting started and she’s got a little control problem,” Rogillio said.

St. Al went in order in the third, then put the game away with six more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Westerfield walked five batters in the fourth, and Richland committed four errors.

Kerut, an eighth-grader, retired the last seven batters she faced and didn’t allow a ball out of the infield in the last 2 1/3 innings. No Richland runners advanced past second base after the first inning.

Vicksburg 2, Brookhaven 0

Whitney Smith threw her second consecutive shutout and Katie Jenkins had a pair of singles to lead the Missy Gators (6-7).

Smith, who shut out Lawrence County on Tuesday, gave up three hits and walked four.

Vicksburg scored both of its runs in the first inning. Kelsey Hudson led off the game by being hit with a pitch and Holly Head followed with a walk. Jenkins’ first hit, coupled with an outfield error, allowed both runs to score.