Smart swings came early and often for Warren East.

The Lady Raiders quickly moved past an extra-inning loss in their last outing by jumping on Bowling Green early, scoring 12 runs in the first inning en route to a 16-0 win in four innings Tuesday night at Bowling Green High School.

Warren East (9-1 overall, 2-1 District 14) earned 11 hits on 17 at-bats in the top of the first inning to put away the Lady Purples (2-6, 1-3), who have lost four straight. The win comes on the heels of Warren East’s first loss of the season, a 13-12 eight-inning shootout with South Warren last Thursday.

“It felt really good just based off the fact we had a rough game the last time we played,” junior first baseman Jeyda Bays said. “It felt really nice to come out and do what we do best.”

Bays finished 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles and five RBIs, while Hailey Hymer added three hits. The entire Warren East lineup earned a hit in the top of the first inning and built a 9-0 lead before the first out.

The Lady Raiders scored one run in the second and third inning before Bays’ RBI in the top of the fourth forced the 15-run mercy rule.

In the last five meetings, Warren East has outscored Bowling Green 63-0.

“They did a really good job at the plate,” WEHS coach Philip McKinney said. “I thought they did a good job at swinging at pitches they could do something with. Instead of just swinging at strikes, they were swinging at strikes that they could drive somewhere. I thought they did a good job at the plate being real picky.”

Bowling Green’s only hit came with Gia Martin’s leadoff single in the bottom of the first. After that, eighth-grader Emma Markham shut down the Lady Purples with five strikeouts.

Warren East finished with 15 hits against Bowling Green’s eighth-grade pitchers Savannah Jones and Payton Briley.

“When we do what we do on the field at practice and bring it to the game, it’s a great thing,” Bays said. “We’re working really well as a unit. Everyone is doing their job and it’s just smashing really well.”

The 16 runs scored marked a season-high for the Lady Raiders, which bumps their average to 9.3 runs per game.

“Offensively, I like how we came out and swung the bat against Greenwood, South (Warren) and Bowling Green,” McKinney said. “Just looking to improve on those at-bats. I think we’re in a really good groove right now.”

Warren East will play the third of a four-game road swing at Glasgow on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Bowling Green travels to South Warren on Thursday at 5 p.m. The Lady Purples lost 10-2 at home in the first meeting this year with the Spartans on March 27.

WE 12 1 1 2 – 16

BG 0 0 0 0 – 0

WP: Markham. LP: Briley{&end}