As debuts go, Polk County softball coach Jeff Wilson couldn’t have asked for much more Thursday from either his Wolverines or freshman pitcher Ashley Scruggs.
Scruggs retired the first 10 batters she faced in her high school career and Polk County scored nine first-inning runs en route to a 14-1 win over the Asheville Trailblazers in the season opener at Polk County.
The Wolverines sent 14 batters to the plate in the first inning, taking command from the outset of what would be a score-shortened five-inning game. Hayley Kropp had two doubles in the inning and Maddy Foy scored the first and last runs of the flurry.
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“We started today with good pitching and good team hitting,” Wilson said. “We had a few goals for this game. One of our goals was to hit good pitches, and I felt like we did that. Hayley Kropp ripped the ball and Brittany Jones ripped the ball. All throughout the lineup we took our time and had good at-bats.”
Scruggs struck out six and allowed just two hits in four innings. Kassidy Reynolds checked Asheville on a single run in the fifth to end the game.
“(Ashley) moved the ball well,” Wilson said. “She has great focus for the game and staying in the zone for somebody so young. She’s pretty special.
“Ashley Kropp did a really nice job running our defense. She’s a good leader.”
Polk County drew seven walks in the first inning, Hayley Kropp had her two hits and Jones, Ashley Kropp and Alexis McCraw each had singles to power the nine-run outburst. The Wolverines added three more runs in the second, highlighted by Jones’ two-RBI single, and two more in the fourth.
Jones finished 3-for-3 with four RBI and Hayley Kropp was 3-for-3 with three RBI to lead Polk’s offense. Ashley Kropp added two hits and an RBI.
