It only took an hour for the Liberty County Lady Panther softball team to shut down Statesboro, 16-0, in three innings Tuesday at home.
With sophomore standout Kathryn Carter on the mound, the visiting Lady Blue Devils didn’t get much of a chance to get on base, let alone score. Carter allowed one hit and one walk while striking out eight batters.
But the Lady Panthers managed only one hit in the game, and Lady Panther coach Jerome Standard said that has to change as they approach the playoffs.
“If something is going to be our nemesis, it’s our hitting at the plate right now and we know that as a team … we’ve known that since the first day of practice and up until this point … If we can get one or more kids on board and get them into a groove, then we can move along with other teams … really good teams,” Standard said.
He added that the girls were a bit more selective at bat, primarily looking to hit strikes. But he said their scoring came down to being able to capitalize on hit by pitches and walks.
“And we took advantage of it, and that is a positive, especially since a few of us haven’t been as selective at the plate as we need to be,” he said.
The lone hit came from Lady Panther Victoria Anthony. She finished the game with two RBIs and scored two runs. Carter, Jeresha Roberson and Haley Spencer each had one RBI.
Liberty will honor its seniors at 6 p.m. Monday when the Lady Panthers host South Effingham. The game was scheduled for Thursday, but poor field conditions forced rescheduling. The Lady Panthers this weekend also will try to make up a few games that were rained out at the beginning of their season. Liberty will play  Wayne County at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Jesup to finish the regular season.
Liberty is tied with Wayne County as far as sub-region wins and losses, but the Yellow Jackets have a better overall record at 20-3. The Lady Panthers are 7-7 overall and 2-2 in Region 3A-AAAA. South Effingham leads the sub-region with a 4-0 mark. Statesboro is 0-4.