Hitting can be contagious and the Ponte Vedra High softball team proved that to be the case during a 15-0 victory at home against rival Nease in four innings March 24.
Every Sharks’ player that stepped to the plate in the game had a hit, including seven players with multiple hits.
The eventual outcome of the contest became clear after the Sharks (8-1-1) opened up a 10-0 lead thanks to a nine-run explosion in the bottom of the second inning.
Junior Madeline Prosser and senior Sarah Wicker led the way with three hits, while Prosser drove home a team-high four runs on the day.
Of the Sharks’ 19 hits, six went for extra bases, including a pair of doubles for both Prosser and senior Kate Mikle.
Also hitting doubles in the game for the Sharks were junior Caiden Oliva and freshman Aoife Weaver.
Senior GiannaMarie Grub joined sophomores Drew Gardner and Maya Wiles as Sharks who also reached base with a pair of singles.
Wicker proved not only to be valuable with a bat in her hands, but she was also the starting pitcher for the Sharks and improved to 5-1 on the season with her fourth shutout.
The five victories ties Wicker’s career-high for wins in a season with many games left to play.
The Panthers (7-5) had a golden opportunity to score the game’s first run after sophomore Miranda Harmon smoked a leadoff triple.
However, Wicker was not rattled and quickly found her groove and got out of the inning leaving Harmon stranded at third base.
Wicker allowed just two hits and struck out six in four innings of work, as she proved why she is the Sharks ace pitcher.
Junior Corinna Cioffi started in the circle for the Panthers and dropped to a record of 4-4. However, she was not helped at times by errors by the Panthers’ defense that extended innings.
