photo by: Kim North

Martins Ferry’s Maddie Lucas winds up before delivering a pitch plateward Tuesday night against Linsly. The junior recorded seven strikeouts, walked one and gave up just one hit in a 10-0 win in four-and-a-half innings.

MARTINS FERRY – Martins Ferry made quick work of visiting Linsly Tuesday in high school softball action. Both literally and figuratively.

The Purple Riders (7-0) received a dominant pitching performance, banged out a dozen hits and played nearly flawless in the field in blanking visiting Linsly, 10-0, in four-and-a-half innings which took a mere 57 minutes.

“Maddie pitched well today and we played really good defense behind her,” veteran Martins Ferry head coach Jerry Magistro said after picking up career win No. 452. “We had some different kids step up today and we’re going to need that down the road.”

Maddie Lucas, who recorded her 250th career strikeout in a doubleheader sweep of Weir over the weekend, only allowed a one-out double by Reagan Vansyoc in the fourth inning. The three-year letterman struck out seven, including three of the last four batters she faced, and walked just one. She threw 69 pitches, with 42 being strikes.

Martins Ferry scored three times in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back in shutting down a Linsly (7-3) squad that was playing pretty well.

“Unfortunatey, we were just talking, we knew they were good and our girls knew they were good,” Linsly head coach Herb Minch said. “Sometimes you wonder if you’re beat before you get here. It was seniors that weren’t making the plays and after them, we rely on freshmen.”

A trio of errors by the Cadets helped the Purple Riders in their first at-bat. With one out, Makayla Cole advanced to second on a throwing error. Giana Chirpas reached when her infield fly was misplayed as Cole took third. Gracie Lucas singled to center to chase in one run and Kendyl Brandon’s infield single and ensuing throwing error made it 2-0. The third run crossed via a wild pitch.

Macy Sustik walked with one-out in the top of the Linsly second, however, the Cadets pinch runner was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning.

Two more Linsly errors led to four more runs by the hosts to build a 7-0 margin. Gracie Lucas once again came through with the big hit – a bases-clearing two-out double to right-center. She finished with four RBI.

“Giana is getting walked a lot in front of Gracie and I’ve told Gracie that she has to make them pay for walking her,” Magistro said. “She’s been doing just that.”

Five consecutive two-out singles in the bottom of the fourth bumped the count to 10-0 and Maddie Lucas retired the Cadets in order in the top of the fifth to invoke the 10-run mercy rule for the second day in a row.

“That’s what we’ve been doing well, stringing hits together,” Magistro noted. “We just want to keep on rolling. You never know, the bottom could fall out at any point, but that was a good Linsly team that we beat today.”

“This is the second game we’ve had like this,” Minch recalled. “It was like we never got off the bus, but we’ll bounce back. We weren’t 7-2 for a reason.”

Kendyl Brandon led the Purple Riders offensive attack with three singles and an RBI. Cole and Tori Long each singled twice, with Long picking up an RBI. All told, seven of the nine Martins Ferry batters had at least one hit, and five drove in runs.

Martins Ferry remains at home Wednesday when Bellaire visits. Linsly treks to Oak Glen on Friday.

Martins Ferry 10, Linsly 0

Linsly 000 00 – 0 1 5

Ferry 340 3x – 10 12 1

L-Applegarth lp (2K, 1BB) and Sustik; Vansyoc D

MF-M. Lucas wp (7K, 1BB) and Rose; Cole 2S; G. Lucas S, D, 4rbi; Ken. Brandon 3S, rbi; Kei. Brandon S, rbi; Long 2S, rbi; Mamone S, rbi