Agape Freedom Sports LLC

WRITTEN BY: JERIC YURKANIN

After taking a tough 21-1 loss to Montrose last week, the Raiders did not just need another game on the schedule — they needed a response. They needed a chance to remind themselves, and everyone watching, who they really are.

And that is exactly what they gave.

Blue Ridge dug deep and found a way to pull one out, showing the kind of toughness that does not always show up on the scoreboard after a bad loss, but shows up in how a team answers it. Because sometimes the biggest statement a team can make is not when everything is going right. Sometimes it is what happens after things fall apart.

There is an old saying: it is not about how many times you get knocked down, it is about how many times you get back up.

A team can get hit hard. A team can struggle. A team can have a day where nothing seems to go right. But what matters most is the response. What matters is whether you stay down or rise again.

That is what made this win feel important.

It was not just a win in the standings. It felt like a reminder of resilience. A reminder of fight. A reminder that one ugly loss does not define a team unless you let it.

Thomas Edison is often remembered for failing thousands of times before finally helping create the incandescent light bulb. The people around him did not just see failure — they saw relentless persistence. They saw someone who refused to quit, someone who treated every setback like a lesson instead of a finish line.

That is what this felt like for Blue Ridge.

This was not about pretending last week did not happen. It was about learning from it, growing from it, and refusing to let it become the whole story. The Raiders showed that setbacks do not have to break you. Sometimes they wake you up.

And on this day, Blue Ridge answered the challenge.

They got back up. They kept fighting. And they came away with a much-needed win that felt bigger than just one game.

Lackawanna Trail came out in the top of the first with intent, energy, and confidence. You could feel it right away — aggressive baserunning, pressure at the plate, putting balls in play, and forcing things to happen. A run scored. Then another. A misplay extended the inning. A passed ball brought one home. Another hit dropped. Before you could even settle in, before Blue Ridge could catch its breath, it was 5-0. Just like that.

And for a moment, you could feel it.

That quiet tension. That uneasy feeling creeping in. That “here we go again” kind of start where everything feels just a little too familiar.

But this time, something shifted.

Because Blue Ridge did not stay there.

They did not let that inning define them.

They answered.

And it did not happen all at once — it built. Slowly. Then suddenly.

In the bottom of the first, Abby Piechocki doubled to get Blue Ridge going. Hailey Carpenetti then popped out, but the Raiders kept applying pressure. Hailey Champang hit a ground ball and reached on an error, allowing Piechocki to score and cut the deficit to 5-1. Moments later, Harper Gallagher hit a ground ball and reached on another error, bringing Champang home to make it 5-2 Lackawanna Trail.

Blue Ridge then came back out and held Lackawanna Trail scoreless in the top of the second, giving the Raiders a chance to keep building momentum.

In the bottom of the second, Blewett walks. then first crack appeared, Trista Laude stepped in and lined a single to center. Blewett scored. It was 5-3 A spark. Then Natalie Bailey reached, keeping the inning alive and forcing Lackawanna Trail to keep playing defense. You could feel the pressure start to turn. Then came execution, as Payton Rutter laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving runners into scoring position and doing the little things that change softball games.

And then came the swing that woke everything up.

Abby Piechocki drove a line shot into left field, and two runs scored. Just like that, it was 5-5. Tie game. In one moment, everything changed. The dugout came alive. Voices got louder. Energy flipped. The field did not feel the same anymore.

“Abby is a solid contact hitter who is capable of taking the ball to both sides of the field. She is the perfect definition of taking it where it is pitched. As a freshman, she has always had such a smooth, timed swing. She is as comfortable with two strikes as she is with one, and she is one I want at the plate when we need something to happen.” Stated Blue Ridge Head Coach Henry Glover

But Blue Ridge was not done.

Not even close.

Hailey Carpenetti stepped in next and delivered a clutch double to left field. Piechocki scored. Suddenly, Blue Ridge had turned a five-run hole into a 6-5 lead. In a matter of minutes, the entire softball game turned.

That was the moment.

That was the response.

And from there, Blue Ridge did not let go.

They kept coming.

In the third, the Raiders turned pressure into production again. Natalie Bailey came through with a huge double to center, driving in two more runs, and you could feel Lackawanna Trail starting to chase the game instead of control it. The inning had that chaotic, fast-paced feel — balls in play, runners moving, throws coming in hot — but Blue Ridge stayed aggressive. Stayed confident. Stayed in attack mode. Payton Rutter followed with an RBI single to center, and then another run came across when Carpenetti put the ball in play and an error allowed yet another Raider to score.

The scoreboard kept moving.

The momentum kept building.

And Blue Ridge kept pushing.

In the fourth, it did not slow down. Trista Laude stayed locked in, lining another RBI single. Natalie Bailey followed again with another hit and another run. Every at-bat felt like pressure. Every pitch felt like it mattered. It was not just offense — it was controlled aggression, confidence, and belief.

Meanwhile, in the circle, Carpenetti settled in after that first inning and flipped the script there too. Strikeout. Another one. Big moments, big pitches. She got Kacie Antolick swinging. Froze Averie Higgins looking. Worked through traffic without letting it break her. What started shaky turned into control, command, and composure.

That is how softball games turn.

That is how teams respond.

And then came the swing that made sure there would be no doubt.

In the sixth inning, Blue Ridge was already in control, but still hungry, still attacking. Carpenetti stepped in again — and this time, she sent one deep to center field for a two-run home run. No question. No hesitation. Just a clean, confident swing that pushed the lead to 15-8 and felt like the final word.

“In my at bat, I was going in with a hunter mentality. I knew I needed to put the ball in play to score the runner who was on. It did not matter where it was placed — a barreled ball is what my team needed in the moment,” said Hailey Carpenetti.

She continued: “I try my best to carry my momentum back and forth from the mound to the plate, keeping a competitive mentality no matter the situation — using success as fuel to continue the fire, as well as failure to light the fire of a constant competitor.”

“Hailey lives in the moment. She thrives on the big stage because of her composure. Whether we are up, down, or in a battle, her even demeanor keeps her in control of the game,” said Blue Ridge Head Coach Henry Glover.

That was not just another run.

That was a statement.

That was a response you could feel.

From there, Blue Ridge finished it off, closing it out the way it had played the entire middle of the softball game — steady, confident, and in control.

Because this was not just a win.

This was a response.

This was resilience.

This was a team that got knocked down early, took the punch, felt the moment, and decided it was not going to end that way.

From a 5-0 deficit to a 15-8 win, Blue Ridge did not just bounce back — it took control of the softball game piece by piece. A hit here. A bunt there. A clutch swing. A shutdown inning. It all added up. It all built into something bigger.

They got back up.

They kept fighting.

And on this day, inning by inning, swing by swing, pitch by pitch, they reminded everyone exactly who they are.

Blue Ridge finished with 15 runs on 18 hits, showing just how complete the response was after that early five-run hole. Abby Piechocki led the charge with a huge day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Trista Laude also had four hits and drove in two, while Hailey Carpenetti delivered one of the biggest all-around performances of the afternoon, finishing with two hits, including a double and a two-run home run, while driving in three. Natalie Bailey added two hits, including a key double, and knocked in three more runs, while Payton Rutter chipped in an RBI and helped set the tone with the small-ball execution that helped change the game’s momentum.

“We were down early in the game, and the energy in the dugout was down. I knew I needed to produce for my girls. Our energy started to shift when the bats lit up. One of my favorite sayings, ‘pass the bat,’ really came alive during today’s game. Once the momentum started, it was going to be hard to stop it,” said Hailey Carpenetti.

Blewett scored three runs and reached base consistently with three walks, while Blue Ridge as a team showed patience too, drawing six free passes. The extra-base hits kept coming, with doubles from Piechocki, Carpenetti, and Bailey, and Carpenetti’s home run serving as the exclamation point. Blue Ridge also stayed aggressive on the bases, getting stolen bases from Hailey Champang and Blewett.

“Once they start getting hot, it definitely changes the aura of the game behind them. We have them bat close in the order for that reason. A few have possibilities of a lot at that point. Players always feed off the vibe. They do a good job of keeping that vibe high,” said Henry Glover.

Lackawanna Trail finished with eight runs on six hits and was sparked early by Shelby Malamud, who scored three times, collected two hits, and tripled. Payton Laytos added a hit, two runs scored, and an RBI, while the Lions also drew six walks and created pressure with aggressive baserunning. But after the opening inning, Blue Ridge settled in and flipped the entire feel of the game, turning early trouble into a statement win that felt about far more than just one result in the standings.

And maybe that is the part that will last the longest.

Not the final score. Not even the comeback itself.

But the reminder.

That this team does not break when things go wrong.

That this team responds.

That this team believes.

Because long after the scoreboard resets and the next game comes around, this one will still echo — as proof of who Blue Ridge is when it is tested, and who it becomes when it answers.

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