Wildcats fall to South Brunswick in second round following rain delay

BOILING SPRING LAKES — After two days and 10 innings of softball, the Richlands Wildcats came up short against the South Brunswick Cougars as they were defeated 2-1 in the second round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A State Playoffs.

Starting on the mound for the Cougars was Kina Davis who, in the opening round for South Brunswick on May 7, pitched a no-hitter against Lee County earning 17 strikeouts in 22 at-bats. For the Wildcats, it was starting pitcher Makenzie Goin who struggled in the Wildcats opening round playoff game against Harnett Central giving up seven runs.

Goin appeared to be completely unaffected by her struggles in the first round though, and both pitchers had a lot of success early in the game with Davis shutting down all three batters in the top of the first inning by earning two strikeouts and forcing a flyout and Goin also shutting down all three batters she faced in the bottom of the inning by forcing two groundouts and earning a strikeout.

In the top of the second inning with two outs, a batter finally reached base for the first time in the game when an error off of a Megan Pittman allowed her to reach first safely. Davis struck out the next two batters though to end the top of the second. In the bottom of the second, Goin’s excellent pitching also continued, and she shut down the side with three strikeouts in a row.

In the top of the third, the first hit of the game finally occurred when junior Jordan Meece started off the first at-bat of the inning with a double. After a strikeout by Piper Turner, Reagan Stapleton then also reached base when an error by South Brunswick shortstop allowed her to reach first safely, putting runners at the corners. Goin, who still had a no- hitter going, then also worked her magic at the plate when she knocked in Meece for the first run of the game with an RBI single. The inning quickly came to an end though as Davis earned a strikeout and forced a groundout.

In the bottom of the third after beginning the inning with a strikeout, Goin’s no-hitter also came to an end when she gave up a single to South Brunswick batter Carly Clewis. Goin quickly seized control of the inning though, and she earned two more strikeouts to get out of the inning unscathed.

After one more inning of excellent pitching from Davis in which all three batters she faced went down by strikeout or flyout, the rain storm that had been reported in the area finally hit the field and with rain pouring down, the players and fans were forced to leave the stadium.

When play resumed the next day, Goin stepped up to the circle as if there had been no break at all, and she allowed just one hit and no runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. In the top of the fifth inning, Davis also continued to pitch at a high level allowing two singles but no runs to score, and it looked as if the game may be heading for a 1-0 final score.

Just when it seemed as if the Cougars may not be able to find a way to get on the scoreboard though, Tyianna Cummings reached scoring position when she opened up the inning with a walk and then with just one out advanced to second on a wild pitch. She was then knocked home when Carly Clewis hit an RBI single which tied the game at 1-1.

The run proved to be the only one of regulation for South Brunswick. Richlands was also unable to score another run as the game headed to extra innings. In fact, after the run scored by Cummings, only one more hit was allowed in regulation play when South Brunswick junior opened up the bottom of the seventh inning with a single.

The pitching duel continued into extra innings with just one single being allowed by Davis in the eighth inning with two outs to Erin Thibault and a double being allowed by Goin to Davis herself in the ninth with no outs. No runs came as a result of either hit though, and the game headed to the 10th inning.

After a quick three and out by Davis in the top of the 10th, Kendra Goodwin got South Brunswick off to a strong start in the bottom of the 10th by earning the first hit of the inning with a single. It looked as if that hit may not result in a run as Clewis struckout, and Gracin Johnson was thrown out at first on a sacrifice bunt. The next batter up for the Cougars got on base though with a single and advanced Goodwin to third base which meant that the Cougars would win the game with just a single.

With two outs and runners at the corners in the bottom of the 10th inning, sophomore Savana Burgess came up to the plate for South Brunswick and delivered the biggest hit of the night when she hit a line drive down the right field line to give the Wildcats a 2-1 victory.

The game-winning hit also marked the end of an epic pitching battle in which Davis and Goin put together one of the best combined performances of the state playoffs.

Davis, who was the winning pitcher, finished with one run, no earned runs, no walks, six hits allowed, and 13 strikeouts in 10 innings pitched. Goin finished the game with two runs (both of which were earned) one walk, eight hits allowed, and 13 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings pitched.

With the loss, Richlands finished the season with an overall record of 18-7. South Brunswick improved to 21-4 overall with the win and advanced to the third round of the NCHSAA 3A State playoffs.