Lakeland High School sophomore Katie Peelen led the Lady Cavaliers softball team to an 11-0 victory over visiting conference opponent Denbigh High School on Tuesday.

“Overall, we did well,” Lakeland head coach Cara Byrd said, noting her team committed no errors defensively and only sustained one strikeout offensively.

When identifying the mercy rule-shortened game’s deciding factor, Byrd pointed to a person.

“Katie Peelen is pitching really well right now,” the coach said on Wednesday. “Mentally, she is the strongest that I’ve ever seen her. She’s working really hard learning new pitches, so she was using those last night.”

Peelen threw four strikeouts in two of the five innings played, improving to 6-7 on the mound. Freshman Whitney Jones pitched the last three innings, retiring five batters.

Offensively, Peelen was also the leader, going 3-for-3, with one double and three runs batted in. Senior Bree Pendleton went 2-for-3, and sophomore Taylor Roten went 1-for-1, with one walk and one RBI.

Byrd said Peelen has been making a concerted effort to prepare for Friday, when Lakeland (6-7, 2-1) hosts a rematch against Nansemond River High School (9-1, 4-0). The Lady Warriors hosted the last meeting on March 28 and won 10-1.