A combination of Lindsey Lester and mental toughness lifted Richlands’ softball team to the doorstep of the Southwest District title.

Lester rung up 22 strikeouts in 10 dominant innings and supplied the tie-breaking hit as the Blue Tornadoes, playing without shortstop Jenny Keene, edged Abingdon 2-1 on a rainy Thursday.

Lester slapped a two-out, two-strike double to deep left field in the top of the 10th inning, easily scoring Holly Bandy from second base.

After taking a wild swing at the first pitch, which was at neck level, Lester heard a teammate yell, "Play your game, eight!"

Lester, who wears number eight, heeded the advice.

"They were pitching me outside and high all day," she said. "I was getting mad at myself for swinging at those pitches. I had to settle down and get a good pitch to hit."

Lester was the only home run threat in a lineup shorn of Keene, a senior who suffered a knee injury last week at Carroll County. Abingdon ace Sha’Tara Cooper gave Lester walks in her first two plate appearances, then fanned her the next two times before the winning hit.

Richlands coach Rhonda Blevins saluted Lester’s work.

"I was hoping they would give her a pitch to hit and they did," Blevins said. "Lindsey’s performance was great."

Lester’s bat won the game, but her right arm kept the Blues (14-1, 8-0) in position to prevail. Consistently pumping risers past Falcon hitters, Lester (11-1) struck out the side in three innings – including a four-K first inning.

The only hitter Lester didn’t vex was third baseman Kendra Hooker. Coming off a two-homer game in Tuesday’s 8-0 shutout win at Tazewell, Hooker went 3-for-3, providing the team’s only run with a long solo shot to lead off the fourth.

"It was a riser that I left inside a little bit," Lester said of Hooker’s clout, her seventh this season.

Otherwise, Abingdon (12-4, 7-2) went 0-for-31, putting just 10 balls into play.

"Kendra is on another level," Falcons coach Jason Delp said. "The better the pitcher, the better she hits. If I could hit her nine times, I would."

While Lester was a deserving winner, Cooper (11-2) was a blameless loser. The durable righthander threw 172 pitches, including about 30 extra deliveries caused by some of her teammates’ seven errors.

Cooper permitted just four hits, walking three and fanning eight. Both runs off her were unearned, including a fourth inning tally which came off two throwing errors following Katie Lindsey’s fly ball to right, enabling Megan Robinson to score from first.

"It’s tough to be 0-2 [against Richlands] and give up no earned runs," Delp said, referring to a 2-1 loss last month which came on a two-run throwing error in the seventh inning. "That was tough to swallow."

Meanwhile, the Blues boarded their bus with a two-game lead and three SWD games left. They could clinch the title as soon as Tuesday at home against Tazewell.

"This team has matured over last year," Blevins said. "It’s tough playing without Jenny, but these kids pulled together. They’re a good group of kids who’ve gotten a lot tougher mentally."