ELLENBORO, W.Va. — Lincoln softball coach Yancey Weaver didn’t like much of what he saw from the Cougars over the first five innings Thursday night at Ritchie County.
Faced with a four-run deficit entering the sixth, the Cougars answered the call in a big way, amassing four hits and drawing three walks that inning, which featured a couple of critical defensive miscues from the Rebels as Lincoln rallied for a 9-7 victory at RCHS.
“If we play the whole game like we did the last few innings, it would have been a different game, but we were flat when we first came out,” Weaver said. “I was proud of how we adjusted and battled. We didn’t quit.”
The Class AA No. 9 Cougars (15-4) had one hit through five innings and trailed 5-1 when Adriana Elder led off the sixth with a single to center. Elder moved to second and third, respectively, on an error and passed ball, before scoring on a fly ball to left that was dropped and allowed the batter, Aspen Dyer, to take second.
Shortly after, Brogan Sampson singled to center and Kerstyn Leggett worked a walk to load the bases.
When Addison Moore followed with a second straight base-on-balls, LHS trailed by two, and a fielder’s choice from Gracie Hardesty that amounted to the first out of the inning brought in another run to cut the Rebels’ lead to 5-4.
Pinch-hitter Reese Bennett, who had come on an inning earlier, followed with a two-run double to left-center that put Lincoln in front, 6-5.
“She was big for us today in critical situations. I’m very proud of her,” Weaver said.
Later in the top of the sixth, Kennedy Linville singled to center to score Bennett, and another dropped fly ball in left enabled Elder to reach on a play that saw Sadie Jones and Linville score, leaving the visitors with a 9-5 advantage.
The Class A No. 8 Rebels (15-7) cut a four-run deficit in half when they came to bat in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Abbigayl Cox and a run-scoring double off that bat of Kesslee Wass that went directly over the third base bag.
“We hit the ball well enough to win,” Ritchie coach Dave Mossor said.
Ritchie had the bases loaded with two outs in that inning after Rocklyn Marcum and Chelsie Jeffrey each worked a walk. At that point, Weaver went back to his starting pitcher in Elder, who replaced Sampson in the circle. The move paid off as Elder got Ava Satterfield to hit a ground ball to shortstop for the final out of the frame.
Elder returned to pitch the seventh and worked around a two-out walk to Emily Bush by striking out Cox to end the game.
FINAL: Lincoln 9, Ritchie County 7
Cougars (15-4) overcame a 4-1 deficit after 5 innings with an 8-run 6th.
Rebels fall to 15-7.#wvprepsb pic.twitter.com/Y9r7Sa3wRz
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) May 1, 2026
“I thought, let’s make a change before they get any closer,” Weaver said. “We didn’t want to walk anybody in and we wanted to make them earn it. We finished strong. I’m very happy with the way we played the last three or four innings.”
Ritchie gained a 1-0 first-inning lead when Satterfield singled to center, allowing Jeffrey to advance from first to third, and the throw into third got away and went into the visiting dugout.
A two-run triple from Marcum, combined with a wild pitch that allowed her to score from third, amounted to a three-run second for the home team, which upped its lead to 4-0 at that point.
Lincoln scored its first run in the fourth on a wild pitch that plated Sampson, who had tripled moments earlier with one out.
“Hats off to their pitcher,” Weaver said of Marcum. “She threw very well the first three or four innings and she had us off balance at the plate.”
The Rebels gained their four-run lead back in the fifth when Marcum hit an infield single, stole second and crossed the plate courtesy of Jeffrey’s double to center.
Ritchie finished with a 10-5 advantage on hits, but issued eight base-on-balls in the setback.
Sampson had two hits in the win, while Marcum, Jeffrey, Satterfield and Wass had two as well in defeat.
Elder pitched 5.1 innings and allowed four runs on five hits. She struck out five and walked three.
Marcum logged six innings in the circle and was charged with nine runs on five hits. She struck out nine and walked seven.
“She got a little frustrated, but she battled,” Mossor said. “She’s battling through a back problem right now.”