With the way Sandy Creek hit and Kayla Folds pitched Thursday, the Starr’s Mill Lady Panthers didn’t have much of a chance.

Creek pounded out 11 hits, and Folds took care of the rest, limiting Region 5A-AAAA rival Starr’s Mill to one run in the Lady Patriots’ 9-1 victory in Tyrone.

Creek (6-3, 2-1 in Region 5A-AAAA) extended Starr’s Mill’s losing streak to five games. The Lady Panthers dropepd to 2-6 overall and 0-1 in the region with the loss.

The Lady Patriots’ top two hitters in their lineup, leadoff hitter Meagan Sitton and Candace Dunn, went 3-4 and 2-4, respectively, to lead the team’s hit parade. Each had two RBI.

“I have high expectations for them,” Creek coach Lisa Pearce said of Sitton and Dunn. “My goal for them is to get on base and bring in runners. The more swings they get in live play like this, they better we’re going to be.”

Folds got off to a rough start, surrendering back-to-back doubles to Alexis Evans and Karley Aszman to start the game — Azman’s double scored a run — but she settled down and shut out Starr’s Mill the rest of the way.

Starr’s Mill got to Folds in the sixth, getting two-out hits off her — Veronica Harper and Brittany Bomba had back-to-back singles — but she struck out Katie Woodcock swinging to close the inning.

Folds scattered six hits, allowed one walk and one run and struck out seven.

Creek tied the game in the bottom of the second when Andrea Dalton was hit by a pitch and later scored on a headfirst slide following a rundown between third and home.

The Lady Patriots jumped ahead for good in the third on an RBI groundout by Kayla Awbrey and a passed ball that enabled Dunn, who had reached on an infield single, to score.

Creek teed off on Starr’s Mill’s pitching in the fourth to increased its lead to 6-1.

Folds, Alice Boone and Hannah Braswell hit three consecutive singles to start the inning. After Mallory Muncher walked, Sitton hit a bases-loaded, two-run single between the gap at second and third.

Dunn followed with an RBI single up the middle.

A two-run single by Mackenzie Arlt and an RBI groundout by Awbrey made it 9-1 in the sixth, bringing the game-ending mercy rule into effect.

Just about everything went right for Creek. Even errors turned into positives for Creek.

A clear example of that occurred in the fifth.

Starr’s Mill had runners on second and third with two outs, and Creek catcher Arlt was looking to bring the inning to an end. She attempted to gun down Megan Szczepanski, straying from the bag at third, but her errant throw sailed into left field.

Left fielder Victoria Reid quickly reached the ball and fired it home, where Arlt easily applied the tag to conclude the inning.

It was that kind of night for the Lady Patriots.

Creek and Starr’s Mill played Tuesday, as well.

The Lady Patriots defeated Douglas County 8-0.

Creek was led by a hitting attack that produced 10 hits. Sitton and Dunn again did the most damage at the plate for Creek; Sitton went 3-for-4, and Dunn went 2-for-4.

Alice Boone had the biggest hit of the game for Creek, a three-run double.

Braswell was stellar on the mound for Creek, pitching a one-hit, 11-strikeout shutout.

Starr’s Mill lost to Alexander 13-4. The only bright spot for Starr’s Mill was Aszman, who went 3-for-3 with two doubles.

Whitewater won two games this week, 18-0 over Banneker and Villa Ricca 11-0.

McKenzie Woody (3-for-3, one RBI, three runs), Kaitlyn Johnson (3-for-3, one RBI, three runs), Haley Richards (2-for-2, one RBI, three runs) and Jamie Saunders (2-for-2, three runs) were Whitewater’s top hitters against Banneker.

Whitney Toler was the winning pitcher.

Johnson led Whitewater at the plate against Villa Ricca, hitting a home run and double, with three RBI. She also scored two runs.

MacKenzie Mosley and Melanie Ennis both went 3-for-3. Ennis had an RBI.

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