Hammond made sure Wednesday that it will be heading into the postseason on a high note, closing the regular season with a convincing victory over Wilde Lake.
The Golden Bears, who are scheduled to play Oakland Mills in the opening round of the 2A South region playoffs on Thursday, scored 13 times in the first two innings against the Wildecats en route to breaking things open for an eventual 16-4 win.
Hammond (4-13) had plenty of highlights, including a pair of doubles from catcher Bethany Hewitt. Cameren Bruce, Sophie Baldwin and Karina LaCroix each added singles as part of the Golden Bears offensive attack.
Becky Straub got the win at pitcher.
Wilde Lake (0-17), meanwhile, showed life in the later innings. The team struck for three runs in the fourth, with senior Marissa Sciabarra (1-2, double, 2 runs) leading off with a walk and then Faith Leslie and Erin Riggin later adding base hits to help drive in runs.
The Wildecats added their final run in the fifth with Mekayla Tucker driving in Sciabarra, who had led off with a double.
Hammond 16, Wilde Lake 4
123 45 R-H-E
Ha 491 20 16-8-1
WL 000 31 4-3-2