No need to change strategy.

Blankenship not only repeated her pitching sequences, she also was able to keep the Knights swinging. The Knights usually missed, which resulted in Blankenship leading the Warriors to a 12-0 victory Tuesday afternoon at Peace College.

“I was just going right after the batters,” Blankenship said. “My changeup was able to catch them off balance, too.” In all, Blankenship struck out nine in just five innings.

“She is awesome because she always hits her target,” St. David’s catcher Sophie Sheats said.

With Blankenship being able to keep her teammates off the field, the Warriors’ offense was just as efficient.

Sheats reached base in each of her three plate appearances, and scored St. David’s first run after getting into scoring position by stealing second and third base. Then, in the fourth inning, she had the highlight of the game. Sheats hit a ball to deep right field and with the ball rolling to the fence, she sped around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.

“It’s just fun knowing that you start the momentum with a play like that,” Sheats said.

The Warriors were also able to create scoring chances with intelligent base running. On many occasions, the Warriors took the extra base when Cary Christian made a throwing error. Blankenship could tell her teammates were motivated to score when a ball was put in play.

“It’s really important to be a smart baserunning,” she said. “It’s your call when you see the ball go past the catcher, and it’s your job to get down the line. I think a lot of those runs came from being smart base runners.”

St. David’s coach Brooke Johnson said her team has continued to improve with a combination of solid defense and better at-bats. Although there are three weeks left in the season, the Warriors (5-5, 3-2 Eastern Plains 2-A) already have more wins now than last year when the team only had two.

“In the beginning I think we had a lot of girls who were just learning to play,” Johnson said. “We’re starting to develop and all of them have started to hit the ball a lot better.”

Cary Christian (1-5, 0-3) was led by catcher Rachel Newcome, who had the Knights’ only two hits. Pitcher Polly Payne also had six strikeouts.