Richlands girls win state title

By DAVE COX/Staff
BRISTOL- The Richlands High School Blue Tornado softball team had an excellent season, making it all the way to the Region IV playoffs before losing to Tunstall.
The Richlands Storm did even better last weekend!
The Richlands Storm, a Big League District 11 All-Star softball team consisting of mostly Richlands players with athletes from Castlewood and St. Paul sprinkled in, grabbed a pair of big victories over District 8 member Virginia Beach last Saturday and Sunday at Highland View Park in Bristol to capture the Virginia State Big League softball championship and advance to the Southern Region in August.
Friday’s and Saturday’s games pretty much mirrored each other with a 5-1 win for the Storm on Saturday and a banner-clinching 6-1 victory on Sunday, but Saturday’s game could have taken a much different route, but for a couple of big run-saving innings by Virginia Beach. Richlands looked poised to put the game away big time in the bottom of the fourth, but Virginia Beach came up with a rare bases loaded triple play to escape that jam. Richlands also loaded the bases in the third and sixth, but came up empty each time. The rest of the day belonged to the Storm!
Richlands 5 Virginia Beach 1
Richlands drew a bye to start the tournament which featured just three teams. Virginia Beach faced Bennett’s Creek to start the tournament last Friday. Kristen Fango tossed a no-hitter in a 2-0 Virginia Beach win to put her team up against the Storm on Saturday in the winner’s bracket.
Virginia Beach grabbed the early lead Saturday as Aja Pleasant scored off a groundout by Kristen Fungo in the top of the first inning, but the upper hand didn’t last long for the Beach!
Richlands jumped on Virginia Beach pitcher Tiffany Waterfield quickly with three first inning runs to move ahead for good at 3-1. Cassie Ringstaff doubled to left and Holly Bandy reached on a throwing error by the third baseman. Ringstaff scored on the same play, tying the game at 1-1. Another error off the bat of Brittany Russell brought Bandy home for the second Storm run of the day. Russell came home on a Megan Robinson single later in the frame.
Richlands added another run in the second inning when a Russell triple plated Bandy, who had singled ahead of her. The Storm added its final run of the day in the fifth stanza. Robinson doubled and raced home on a single by Micka Brady.
Richlands finished the game Saturday with nine hits and played error-free ball. Virginia Beach had three fielding errors.
Morgan Trent and Evan Ferrell combined for a six-hit performance in the circle for the Storm. Trent hurled the first four frames and Ferrell finished the job in the final three innings. Ferrell fanned five batters. Trent picked up the pitching win.
“I’ve never been to a state tournament,” Ringstaff said after the contest. “We came together as a team today and played our game with good defense.”

Richlands 6 Virginia Beach 1
Virginia Beach outlasted Bennett’s Creek 10-9 late Saturday night sending Bennett’s Creek packing in the double elimination event and pitting Virginia Beach against Richlands for a second time on Sunday. A Virginia Beach win Sunday would have necessitated a second contest against the Storm later that day, but Richlands made sure that didn’t happen. Fungo went to the circle in an attempt to stop the Storm, but she didn’t enjoy the same success that she had against Bennett’s Creek.
Fungo limited Richlands to a first inning single by Bandy, but the second frame was a different story for the Virginia Beach standout. Lindsey Dickerson worked Fungo for a lead-off walk, but was out at second base on a fielder’s choice play off the bat of Robinson. A single by Trent moved Robinson to second and another single, by Emily Mohon, loaded the bases. Katie Lindsey brought both Robinson and Trent home on a sharp single to left.
Richlands padded its lead by a run in the third frame. Russell doubled and scored on a RBI single by Robinson.
The Storm broke things open with a 3-run fifth inning to take a commanding 6-0 lead. Ringstaff opened the stanza with a single and Bandy beat out a bunt. Russell loaded the bases with a single and Dickerson emptied two bags with a jarring double to left, plating Ringstaff and Bandy. Russell later scored on a wild pitch to finish the Storm’s scoring for the day.
Virginia Beach scored its lone run of the day in the top of the seventh, but Ferrell escaped a bases loaded jam by striking out the final Virginia Beach batter of the game.
Richlands finished with nine hits and once again played errorless softball. Lindsey started the game in the circle for the Storm and pitched three shutout innings, giving up only one hit. Ferrell struck out four batters, giving her nine strikeouts in seven innings of work in her two tournament games combined. “I did OK, I guess,’ she said. “I don’t get to pitch much in school ball, but I love it and it’s my favorite thing to do.”
Bandy celebrated with her teammates after capturing the championship and Storm manager Terry Ringstaff got an ice water shower from the cooler by some of his players. “It’s great,’ said Bandy. “It’s the first state championship we’ve ever won. It’s amazing. It’s a team effort and we have a great group of girls and they are very talented.”
“This is an award that started in the parents’ backyards and went on through Little League, Junior League, Senior League and school ball,” Terry Ringstaff said. “So, here they are. These girls have reached the state championship and it’s a reward for everybody- the town, community and even the girls that came over from other communities and played with us during this tournament. I give all the credit to the girls. They played heads-up ball, good defense and the hits came when they were needed.”
Richlands Storm Big League roster:
Morgan Trent (Castlewood)
Lindsey Dickerson (St. Paul)
Candice Castle (St. Paul)
Brittney Russell (St. Paul)
Cassie Ringstaff (Richlands)
Holly Bandy (Richlands)
Emily Mohon (Richlands)
Katie Lindsey (Richlands)
Megan Robinson (Richlands)
Evan Ferrell (Richlands)
Micka Brady (Richlands)
Manager: Terry Ringstaff
Coach: Shane Wicks
Scorekeeper: Lisa Mohon