Royals softball shows heart at end of Indian River loss

A young Delmarva Chrisitan softball roster will receive no quarter to start the 2026 season, as three of the first four games are against Henlopen South opponents.

The Royals were excited to start their year, but not so excited about losing 14-4 to Indian River in the first game. But they saw some positives to hang their hats on. Seniors Kylie McCabe and Eve Bohinski’s leadership was one of the sunnier moments on the brisk, bright day.

“Kylie did come in and did a great job in relief,” coach Chrissy Dunn said. “Eve coming up in the last inning to help score some runs; those are positives that we’ll take back to practice.”

IR also boasts a young lineup, with two seniors and five freshmen balancing six sophomores and juniors. A few girls were getting their first varsity looks for the host, but they were just as comfortable as the experienced girls.

“Indian River was getting some good hits [and] finding all the spots,” Dunn said. “It wasn't a lot of errors; they were finding space.”

IR used a big second inning to plate 11 of its 14 runs after scoring a pair of runs in the first inning. The Indians added another in the third inning.

Following a scoreless fourth inning from both squads, Delmarva Christian’s bats started heating up in the fifth inning. McCabe opened the stanza with a single to right field. Pinch runner Violet Ryan made her way to second base when junior Kaelyn McGuinness shot a single up the middle of the infield.

Sophomore MaryKate Dougherty loaded the bases with a line drive to left field. With eighth-grader Carsyn Riddle at the plate, Ryan crossed on a wild pitch and each runner moved up a base. Riddle ripped a riddler into right field to plate McGuinness and put Dougherty on third base.

With two outs, Bohinski strolled into the box with Riddle on second following freshman Grace Hicks’ walk. The senior roped a fly ball into center field. Hicks and Riddle scored to give Bohinski a two-RBI double.

“The girls didn't give up, and they kept fighting,” Dunn said. “That's the big positives to take away from it.”

The Royals couldn’t cut the lead down to single-digits, and IR took the 14-4 victory following the final out of the top of the fifth inning.

Delmarva Christian will play its home-opener against Glasgow High School at 4 p.m., Thursday, March 26, at Millsboro Little League.

“We'll keep working on it,” Dunn said. “Our goal is just to get better every day.”