COURTLAND-The Southampton Academy softball team, as stocked with underclassmen as it is stoked with championship expectations, rolled through a quarterfinal game of the Virginia Commonwealth Conference Tournament Wednesday, defeating Fuqua School 8-0.

The win propelled the Lady Raiders into semifinals against No. 1 seed Tidewater Academy at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Fuqua School. The championship game will be Saturday, also at Fuqua School.

The No. 4 Lady Raiders dispatched Fuqua with relative ease Wednesday behind the pitching of sophomore Courtney Tayloe, who tossed a one-hit, seven-strikeout performance against No. 5 seed Fuqua.

Fuqua’s only hit came in the first inning.

Southampton Academy scored its half of the first inning when leadoff hitter Taylor Bradshaw, a freshman, reached as her hot ground ball was bobbled by the Fuqua shortstop and she beat the high throw to first. She stole second base and scored on a double – a one-hopper off the left-field fence by junior Michal Ann Camp, the team’s oldest player – for what would be the only run the team needed.

Southampton played solid defense behind Taylor, and also scored two runs in the third inning, two more in the fifth and three in the sixth to put the game away methodically.

Southampton Academy has a 9-6 record.

The game Friday against Tidewater Academy will pit two schools located within miles of one another but playing about 2 1/2 hours from their homes. Both teams know each other well. Even though Tidewater won both regular-season games this year, Southampton Academy upset Tidewater Academy in last year’s tournament, an outcome that has not been forgotten.

&uot;We won’t be sneaking up on them this year,&uot; said Southampton Academy coach Shawn Denne.