The Richmond junior varsity softball team closed out its season in style.

Casey Snead pitched a two-hitter and recorded seven strikeouts, and the JV Lady Raiders took advantage of control issues from Jack Britt starter Shelby Watkins to blank the Lady Buccaneers 11-0 in five innings Tuesday afternoon.

Despite finishing with an overall record of 13-3, the team finished second in the conference behind Scotland, which swept the season series with Richmond.

JV Lady Raiders coach Jessica Kinsey was still proud of the way the team performed on the field this season.

“Even though, we didn’t win the conference, I thought we played very consistent this season,” Kinsey said. “With this being a new group, the girls were a little nervous at the beginning of the season, but they got more comfortable as the season went along. They did a good job of communicating well on the field as the season went along.”

Snead flirted with a no-hitter until it was broken up in the fourth when Shay’Lynn Wongus and Dominique Johnson had back-to-back one-out singles. Snead preserved the shutout as she coaxed Briana Collins to ground out and struck out Carlasha Burse to end the inning.

“I think Casey came out and threw the ball very well,” Kinsey said. “She gave a 100 percent every time she took the field.”

While Snead was in command on the mound, Watkins struggled getting her pitches over the plate. Richmond jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, two of them scoring on wild pitches from Watkins. Alex Gardner drove in the other run in the inning on a single.

The JV Raiders erupted for six runs in the third inning to extend the lead to 9-0. Hannah Bailey drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on Kayla Carroll’s ground out. Watkins uncorked a wild pitch, moving Bailey to third. Watkins hit Ashley Leviner with a pitch to put runners on the corners.

Leviner stole second and Emily Taylor was also hit by a Watkins’ pitch to load the bases. Watkins walked Kaitlyn Gardner, forcing Bailey home. Watkins continued to struggle with her control as she uncorked two straight wild pitches, giving the JV Lady Raiders a 6-0 lead.

Faith Richardson ripped a run-scoring single to give Richmond a 7-0 lead. Gardner, who was 2-for-2 with three runs batted in, slugged a two-run double to left to close out the inning’s scoring.

Richmond tacked on two more runs in the fourth to lead 11-0 and after the Lady Buccaneers went down in order in the fifth, the game was called because of the mercy rule.

“I thought the girls were very disciplined at the plate, and they waited for good pitches,” Kinsey said. “They did a good job of not swinging at bad pitches and we took advantage of the opportunities given to us.”

n Contact sports reporter Corey Davis at 997-3111, ext. 44; e-mail cdavis@yourdailyjournal.com