June 29, 2024
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The middle of Virginia Unity 18u Johnson/Ricks’ lineup put on a mini home run derby in Friday’s P5 fastpitch event win over Texas Glory, smashing five no-doubters en route to an 8-0 mercy rule victory.
Class of 2025 power hitters Avery Motroni and Emma Knight led the way with two homers each at Red Rocks Field, located inside the Triple Crown Sports complex. With her fourth-inning blast being a three-run shot, Motroni racked up a team-high four RBI.
“It felt really good to help out my team,” said Motroni, an Arizona State softball commit. “My mindset was just swinging at strikes. Recently, I've had a little bit of trouble with my pitch selection, so swinging at strikes was definitely something I was looking for.”
Unity’s fifth and final home run came courtesy of Natalie Cable, a class of 2025 pitcher/utility player who’s committed to playing college softball at UCLA.
“When everyone's on and everyone's doing great, it's so fun,” Motroni said. “Being with this group of girls and all of us being committed (to college programs), it's just so fun.”
Aided by ample run support and a flawless group of gloves behind her, Unity starting pitcher Presley Harrison enjoyed a rather low-stress afternoon in the circle. The class of 2025 Georgia commit tossed all five innings while striking out three and walking none.
“I was just throwing for strikes, looking for groundouts and trusting my defense behind me — they made some awesome plays,” Harrison said. “Makenna (Bellaire) was great behind the plate. I was trusting my spins and praying to God that it works.”
As Harrison alluded to, Unity’s gloves, particularly in the infield, were active and effective. Shortstop and Texas A&M signee Khamara Dement had two assists and two putouts, including a stellar diving catch to her right on a line drive.
“I can relax knowing that my defense behind me has my back,” Harrison said. “It lets me breathe a little bit and just sit back and have fun.”
Amayah Doyle and Rylie Johnson were also key offensive contributors; each had one double and scored a run.
Texas Glory, head coached by Lee Velasquez, finished with five hits on the afternoon, including two from University of Houston commit Madox Mitchael. In the circle, Lucy Crowder allowed three runs in two innings before giving way to Ainsely Pemberton.
After dropping to 0-3 in the inaugural P5 fastpitch event, Texas Glory will look to rebound against NJ Stars National Coleman and VA Glory Willemssen on Saturday at Rolland Moore Park in Fort Collins. VA Unity Johnson/Ricks improved to 3-1 heading into its final game, a 4 p.m. matchup against Select Fastpitch on Saturday at Rolland Moore.
