RUSSELL — Martin County Lady Cardinals softball opened on the road March 13 with an 11-1 loss to the Russell Lady Red Devils in five innings.

Senior Savannah Young got the nod at the mound for the Lady Cards.

Martin County kept it close for three innings and was down 2-0 going into the fourth. Then things started going downhill.

Russell started the fourth inning getting runners on with a base on balls and a hit pitch. The Lady Cards committed three errors giving up four runs on one hit. The score was 6-0 heading into the fifth inning.

Martin County’s Keilan Jewell started the fifth inning with a single, and Sophie Harless reached second on an error. With runners on second and third, Haley Robinson brought Jewell across the plate with a sacrifice to score the only run of the game for the Lady Cards.

The Lady Cards were down 6-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth.

Russell’s bats heated up and the Lady Devils slapped three hits in the fifth. The Lady Cards gave up two base on balls, two hit-by-pitch runners, and two errors en route to Russell scoring five runs to end the game.

Audrey Patel went five innings in the circle for Russell, allowing three hits and one run and getting 12 strikeouts (seven caught looking and five punch outs).

Young went the distance on the mound for the Lady Cards, allowing 11 runs on seven hits and recording three strikeouts and three walks.

The Lady Cards committed six errors.

Jewell scored the only run for the Lady Cards.

Young went 2-for-3 at the plate with two singles while Jewell went 1-for-2 with a single to account for three hits Lady Cards hits.

Russell had 11 hits at the plate, three walks and five hit-by-pitches for 11 runs.

“The game started out well, but errors and cold bats hurt us,” Coach Jonathan Durham said. “We got a lot of work to do still. I know we’re better than what we showed last night.”