Since their first game in 2016, the View Park Knights have exponentially developed into a competitive program. The reigning division III City Section Champions routed the Crenshaw Cougars girls softball team 24-6 on Thursday.
Sophomore Ro’nae Pumphrey, junior Skylar Veazie, and sophomore Janell Brown all scored four runs each. Sophomore Savannah Lovelace-Swann earned six RBIs for the Knights.
“It’s good practice for both Crenshaw and View Park because when you get to the harder division teams in the league, you want to take all the good stuff and all the bad stuff that you did in your game against each other to the game that’s against better competition,” said freshmen Coi Brown.
A strong offensive effort shown in the early innings by the Knights helped them gain momentum. The Knights earned their first run from a bunt by senior Bridgette Young; sophomore Sam Johnson ran from second base to cross home plate. The Knights had no problem advancing to bases, capitalizing off of Crenshaw’s errors.
View Park had scored three points before gaining their first out. By the time Crenshaw was up to bat, the Knights were up by six.
Senior Hazelyn Gotay scored a single for the cougars, but Crenshaw could not score a run in the first inning before gaining three outs.
To start the second inning, Janell scored a homerun, earning two RBIs on the play. View Park edged the score to nine before Crenshaw returned infield.
“Once we started getting a rally going on, we started to get our energy back up,” said Lovelace-Swann.
With two people on base, senior Tanisha Carter earned a hit to put Crenshaw on the scoreboard. Junior Yulany Foster swung a triple, resulting in two runs. The Cougars went into the third inning with three runs.
“I just feel like our infield is really strong,” Gotay said. “We just need to work a little bit harder to get it done.”
View Park scored six more runs at the top of the third inning. Their defense was also keen when Crenshaw junior Sierra Glover was tagged out on a steal attempt. Crenshaw batters also struggled to get on base via hits.
“I can tell we tried,” said Crenshaw senior Katherine Arenas. “Our communication was better than usual, so that was a good side.”
When View Park was at bat again, Johnson hit a homerun. The Cougars retaliated by forcing two outs. There was a player on second and third base when Lovelace-Swann hit a single and earned two RBIs.
Gotay caught one of Johnson’s out field-bound hits to usher the Cougars back infield. Carter hit a double and helped the Cougars earn another run. The next three batters were then shutout by Janell’s high speed pitches.
At the top of the fifth inning, View Park scored five more points, including homeruns from Pumphrey and Lovelace-Swann.
After spring break, the Cougars will face the Dorsey Dons on April 20. The Knights will also face the Dons on April 18.
