Basic elements provided the proper chemistry in a Thomas Jefferson 8-1 defeat of Emerald Ridge in opening game play of the SPSL 4A girls fastpitch tournament on Thursday, May 13.

"This was a great game for us," said Raider head coach Chad Fahnlander. "Their pitcher was good until she lost a little of her stuff. Our good defense, pitching and timely hitting stacked up well."

Defense was embodied by the play of fleet center fielder Lexi Goranson. In the fourth inning, Goranson completed a fine, running catch of a deeply hit ball that first appeared to be on its way over her head.

Pitching came in the form of freshman Katie Jackson's mound mastery most of the way. Jackson gave up only three hits with four strikeouts and two walks. The Jaguars got their only run in the fifth inning on a walk, sacrifice bunt, wild pitch and sacrifice fly sequence.

Otherwise, Jackson's variety of pitches, including a challenging changeup, held Emerald Ridge off the scoreboard.

"I felt good and was on my game," Jackson related. "It was nice to have good weather because it helps our spirits. My defense, especially Lexi, did a good job, and we hit the ball."

Thomas Jefferson began its hitting with third inning heroics. Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez reached first base on a one-out infield error.Lefthanded hitting Reno Whitcomb followed with a perfect drag bunt down the third base line. An infield error let one run score before Michaela Patton's standard bunt single loaded the bases ahead of a run-scoring wild pitch.

In the fifth inning, Goranson singled home the Raiders' third run. Jefferson then erupted for five runs on three hits and three walks in the seventh to erase any possible doubts about the outcome.

Cassidy Dewaele batted 2-for-3 with a double while Hannah Kiyohara was 2-for-4 with three runs scored to pace the TJ attack that netted eight total hits.

Later in the day, the Raiders could muster up only one hit in a 4-0 shutout loss to Tahoma.

"It was a well-played game," concluded Fahnlander. "We gave up two unearned runs and just hit the ball right at the fielders."