DURHAM– The Lady Cardinals of East Wilkes High School faced off with the Panthers of Northside-Pinetown on the field at Duke University as they battled for the NCHSAA 1A State Championship in softball on Friday and Saturday. In the best two of three series that required all three games to name the champion, the Lady Cardinals claimed victory in an exciting 9-3 win, giving their school their first ever state championship in fast-pitch softball and the school’s first state championship since the girls tennis team won in 2008 and the first for any Wilkes County school since 2017.
In a fashion that was perhaps appropriate for this group of softballers, many who have played together since early childhood, the Lady Cardinals put themselves behind the eight ball after losing the first round on Friday evening, 0-3. EW head coach Derrick Hill, claiming his sixth state title, remarked, “I love how we dug ourselves a hole (Friday) and spent all day today filling it back in.” After losing the first game on Friday, the Cardinals were in a position of having to win the next two matchups to take the state title. They were able to force a third and final game on Saturday morning with a gritty performance, winning 7-5 in the morning matchup.
With only a few hours to rest and recover, the Lady Cards took the field on Saturday evening where they were ready to leave it all on the field in attempts to take home the coveted trophy. Down 3-1, a big seven-run rally in the fourth inning propelled the Cardinals into the winner’s circle. Senior Jayden Hutchison, named MVP of the tournament, and a Rutgers signee, powered her team to victory with two home runs, the second, a three-run bomb over left field. Chloe Andrews, battling back pain, was a dynamo from the mound for her team, striking out 12 of 13 batters and delivering 229 pitches for the weekend.
The Cardinals closed out their season with a school high record, 29-4 and ended the Panthers’ season at 22-6. The Panthers had been on a storybook run, knocking out four higher-seeded teams on their journey to the championship game.
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