Charleston High School softball swept Mattoon in an Apollo Conference doubleheader at the Roundhouse Complex on Friday with a 16-1 win in game one and a 13-1 win in game two. 

The Trojans opened up game one with a leadoff double by senior Avery Beals followed by a home run by sophomore Lainie Keefer over the centerfield fence. 

“I really go up there and just try to hit the ball as hard as I can,” Keefer said. “The words I kind of use for myself is ‘I’m trying to hurt someone with the ball’ that’s how hard I hit.” 

The two runs were added to the total 16 from Charleston.  

They would continue in the third with four more runs, one in the fourth then three in the sixth and six in the final inning.  

In total, Charleston had 19 hits as a team with eight of the nine starters recording at least one hit. 

Five players had multi-hit games with Beals going a perfect five-for-five at the plate.  

The same number of players also had multiple RBIs. Keefer led with four, two from the first inning home run and on another two-run home run in the sixth.  

“Everybody had a purpose up there and they were thinking one hit at a time,” Charleston head coach Macey McElravy said. “We were playing as a team.” 

Keefer said the key to the offense was the team working off each other.  

“We were really stringing all the hits together well,” Keefer said. “I think that was the biggest thing is we were just feeding off of each other.” 

Junior Raylin Cox pitched a complete game only allowing the sole Mattoon run and picking up a pair of strikeouts.  

The second game saw Mattoon flip the script by scoring first with an Alicia Whitley home run in the second inning.  

Charleston wouldn’t score until the fifth, when Lewis hit an RBI double and Keefer hit a double of her own to take the lead.  

The Trojans held Mattoon scoreless for the rest of the game, and in the seventh inning, they added 11 runs to their total.  

Charleston racked up 17 hits compared to Mattoon’s six.  

The team also got on base with seven walks in the game.  

Junior Reece Good also pitched a complete game with one run and two strikeouts.  

The sweep snaps a four-game losing skid for the Trojans.  

Charleston travels to take on Danville on Monday. 

Jason Coulombe can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].