RANDOLPH — A long, often difficult regular season saw a happy ending for the Randolph softball team.

The Cardinals (3-16) pounded out 20 hits in a five-inning outburst Monday afternoon, beating Salamanca 23-6 to close out the regular season and CCAA East I play. Trailing 2-0 after the first half-inning, Randolph jumped erupted with five runs in the first, 10 in the second and five more in the third.

Rhiannon Rhodunardt led the Randolph offense, hitting 4-for-5 with five RBI.

Annalise Boyer (four runs) and Mackenzie Marsh (five runs, triple) both went 3-for-4. Brynn Pagett (triple) and Nikole Lockwood each had two hits and three RBI.

“There’s been steady improvement all season long,” Randolph coach Geoff Olson said of his offense. “The last couple weeks we’ve been hitting the ball hard, but just a lot of ball right at people. Tonight they were finding holes and that was a big difference.”

Abbigail Mansfield held Salamanca to one earned run (three total) on four hits and struck out four with two walks over four innings.

“(It was) just a matter of settling down and making the plays that we can make,” Olson said. “As long as our pitchers throw strikes and stay ahead in the count, then we’re in good shape.”

Emma Isaac went 3-for-3, including a two-run home run, for Salamanca (4-11). Jada Jimerson doubled and drove in two runs. The Warriors had six hits but also made four errors.

“This is huge for us,” Olson said of the win. “We’ve been improving a lot with the hitting over the year but tonight obviously everybody was really hitting the ball hard so that’s a huge plus going into the playoffs. That’s what we really needed to see.”

BASEBALL

Randolph 4, Salamanca 2

RANDOLPH — Randolph’s Devin Foster struck out 10 in a complete game five-hitter, outdueling Salamanca’s Xander Edstrom.

Edstrom (7 strikeouts) also went the distance on the mound, allowing four hits and no walks.

Foster, Dominic Horton and Dylan Williams had a hit and scored for the Cardinals (6-7, 3-6), and Austin Reyes did the same for the Warriors (0-11, 0-10).

AT RANDOLPH

                                        R H E

Salamanca 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 5 5

Randolph 0 0 0 3 0 1 x — 4 4 2

Xander Edstrom (7 SO) and Lucas McKenna

Devin Foster (10 SO, 1 BB) and Dylan Williams