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It was a comfortable Thursday evening for the LaGrange softball team, breezing past region opponent Starr’s Mill 16-8.

The Grangers offense got going eventually, but it was the dominance of Zoe Thompson on the mound that got the away team off on the right foot.

Thompson pitched a strong three innings, allowing just one hit on four strikeouts. She was replaced by McKinsey Gaddy, who pitched two innings before being replaced by Kaylee Foster. 

This was Foster’s first varsity appearance since she tore her ACL last fall while playing with the Grangers

The Grangers were able to take an early lead when Carolyne Garcia reached on an error to drive home Kimberly Reynolds in the top of the first.

LaGrange doubled its lead in the top of the second when Gaddy scored on another error from the Panther defense.

The game was locked in at 2-0 until the Grangers blasted five runs past the Panthers in the top of the fourth.

Reynolds hit a one-run double followed by a one-run single from Garcia to make it 4-0. 

Hudson Wood hit a sacrifice fly and an error allowed LaGrange to extend its lead to 6-0. The Grangers got one last run in the inning when Shelby Siggers got a pinch hit one-run single.

The Panthers were able to trim the Granger lead down to just three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Grangers were able to pad their lead back out in the top of the fifth inning. Reynolds lined out to drive in the first run of the inning before Garcia delivered the biggest hit of the night, a solo home run to center field.

LaGrange added another run in the inning when Jasia Swanson hit a one-run single to make it 10-4. 

The Panthers offense was sparked to life and added another two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but the Grangers just kept on rolling on offense.

Reynolds hit a double to drive in the first two runs in the sixth inning. Reynolds was brilliant offensively, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored. 

Garcia singled to drive in the third run of the inning, She had a big game offensively as well, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored. 

Siggers drove in two runs with single in the sixth before eventually reaching home on a single from Gaddy to round out the scoring for the Grangers.

Starr’s Mill added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, but it was not enough to stop the game from ending an inning early.

Swanson joined Garcia and Reynolds in the three hit department while Gaddy, and Tatiana Dudley had two each. Abby McGill and Wood finished with a hit apiece. 

LaGrange (5-3) has now won 5 of its last six games with the only lost coming by one run to Columbus. The Grangers are a perfect 5-0 in region play and will put their perfect region record to the test when they travel to Whitewater on Friday.