The Gatewood School softball team opened its 2022 season on a strong note as the Lady Gators swept Central Fellowship Christian Academy (10-1, 12-3) in their opening series.
After getting the first two victories of her career as the Lady Gators’ head coach, Gatewood’s Dena Stancil was excited and proud of her team for starting the season on such a positive note.
“I thought we hit really well in the first game. Our bats were alive. We’re getting bunts down. We did that in both games,” Stancil said. “Defensively, our pitchers are doing a great job. Both Riley (Roberts) and Natalie (Sills) are throwing well. They were both hitting their spots when they needed to. There were multiple strikeouts for both girls in each game.”
Roberts and Sills both gained valuable experience last season as eighth-graders while playing at the varsity level. Now, they are already accustomed to it as freshmen and excelled last week.
The Lady Gators handled business in game one of the series against the Lady Lancers last Thursday. Roberts got the start in the circle and limited her opponent to one run in the outing. She got some help from her offense, which poured it on against Central Fellowship early and often.
Taylor Moreno, Ellie McMillian, Eliana Tkacik and Kindall Ward all had productive games at the plate for the Lady Gators, which gave Roberts some confidence each inning. She continued that moxy every time she went out for each inning as Gatewood dominated.
In game two, Sills got the start and the Lady Lancers got out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. However, she went into lockdown mode for the rest of the game and gave up no more runs. Roberts made an appearance in the top of the fifth frame and gave up one run, but Gatewood already held the lead. She did again receive some help from offense in the bottom of the fifth.
The Lady Gators scored seven runs as Sills and Ward led off the inning with a pair of singles. McMillian would smash a single to left, scoring both runners during the next at-bat. Gatewood scored five more runs to post a run-rule victory in five full innings.
Sills had eight strikeouts, one walk and only gave up two earned runs in four innings pitched. Roberts gave up one earned run and two walks with one strikeout during her only inning in game two. The Lady Gators had multi-hit games from six players on Monday.
Stancil highlighted she’s extremely confident that both freshmen pitchers can succeed at the varsity level.
“The growth already that I am seeing out of both of them is just tremendous,” she stated. “Just their demeanor in the circle, it’s incredible. They fit. They’re varsity players now. Their confidence is unmatched for a freshman. That one year of experience (last season) gives them a leg up. It helped them grow. I am very excited to see the next couple of years.”
Gatewood faced Windsor Academy on Tuesday (past press time) and will play at Edmund Burke Academy, starting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The Lady Gators will then host a doubleheader against Southland Academy, Aug. 20, with 11 a.m. scheduled for the first pitch.