Jeff Linville | The News
East Surry’s Jessica Barker pitched a perfect game against West Stokes Tuesday evening. The senior struck out 16 of the 21 batters she faced.
PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry pitcher Jessica Barker tossed a perfect game as the Lady Cardinals beat West Stokes 6-0 Tuesday.
Barker didn’t allow a hit, walk or hit batter. Of the 21 outs recorded, 16 came by strikeout.
The other five outs were recorded cleanly by the defense, including a running catch near the left foul line by outfielder Kelsey Wilson.
This was the first perfect game in several years, said Coach Derrick Hill.
Standout Hayley Shelton had many shutouts and a couple of no-hitters, but Hill said he doesn’t think Hayley ever threw a perfect game.
Hill believed this was the first perfect game since Brooke Honeycutt (class of 2008) did so a few years back.
After Barker sat down the first three Wildcat batters, her counterpart started off 3-0 on Olivia Sheets.
Then Abigail Worley struck out Sheets and the next two batters and looked ready for a pitchers’ duel.
Worley has a good rise ball, said Hill. Once the Cards started laying off that high pitch, the hitting improved.
Still, he noted, “We didn’t have but six hits ourselves.”
The game was scoreless through three and a half innings, then the Cards exploded for five runs.
Second hitter Brooke Bowman was hit by a pitch to put a runner on. Then Barker singled and Wilson was hit by a pitch, too, to load the bases for Emily Cummings.
Emily hit a sharp bouncer to second base that Hill recorded as an error. That scored Bowman and left the bases full.
Catcher Amber Lawson singled to left center to score Barker and Wilson for a 3-0 lead.
Jesse Barr followed with a double to right to drive in Cummings and Lawson’s courtesy runner for a 5-0 lead.
A couple more hit batters helped East Surry add an insurance run in the sixth.
Barr was hit in the helmet by a ball. Cummings singled, then Sheets reached on an error.
Bowman was hit by a pitch for the second time on the night, which forced in Barr.
“We’re getting better, progressively, over the last couple of weeks,” said Hill. Obviously, getting Kelsey back helped the offense, but the pitching has been much better, too.
“If we keep that up, we’ve got a chance against anybody,” he said. The Cards host Starmount tonight, then they host South Stokes on Friday.
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