CAMDEN — What happened to the Camden High School softball team in the 2A NCHSAA softball state playoffs Friday night was unbelievable, shocking, and just plain wrong.
Having not allowed a run in their three previous playoff games, the Bruins had outscored their opponents 26-0 and were on the verge of their fourth straight shutout, leading the Martin County Knights 3-0 with two outs in the seventh inning.
While there were two runners on, Camden needed just one more out to close out the Knights. Then the Titanic hit the iceberg. Or as Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over 'til it's over."
A clean single to left brought in one run, and then after an intentional walk, a second base hit scored the second run for the Knights. With the bases loaded, up stepped first baseman Erica Sturgill, a lefty swinger who in the top of the sixth inning had flied out deep to centerfield.
She again hit a fly to center, but this time the ball kept carrying. It carried all the way over the fence for what would be a go-ahead grand slam home run. Sturgill's homer culminated a miracle comeback for the Knights, and after their pitching shut down Camden in the bottom of the seventh, a crushing 6-3 defeat for the Bruins.
Up until the last inning, everything had pretty much gone well for the home team. Bruin pitcher Carlyn Tanis had retired the Knights in order in the first and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning.
In the bottom of the second, Camden took the lead. Emma Young beat out a grounder to deep short. She moved to second on a perfect sacrifice bunt by Caleigh Martin. Moving to third on an infield out, Young scored on an infield hit by Tanis, who just beat the throw of the Knights' third baseman.
Tanis got a quick three outs in the third, aided by two sparkling plays by shortstop Kaitlynn Barnes. The sophomore smothered a hard smash and threw out the runner for the first out, and then after a second infield out, she made a backhand stab in the hole and got the runner by a half step.
Martin County stranded two runners in the fourth, while Camden increased its advantage in the home half. Young again got on base when she was hit by a pitch. Martin followed with a sharp single to left, and Audrey Jones moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt.
Knight pitcher Peyton Lane then issued an intentional walk to the dangerous Tanis, loading the bases. Ellie Barker then delivered a clutch single to center to knock in Young. The next two hitters popped out, but Camden had the lead 2-0 after four innings.
The Bruins got their third score in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Barnes and Young both walked. A wild pitch moved them to second and third. Martin hit safely to score Barnes, but Young was thrown out on a close play at the plate. The rally would end, but that third run seemed to be all Camden would need, a nice cushion.
After a scoreless sixth for both teams, the bottom of the Knight batting order was due up in the final frame. Although the first hitter walked, Camden second baseman Ruby Arnette made a solid play on a grounder up the middle, flipping to Barnes for the first out. An infield hit flipped the lineup, but the next hitter lined to Arnette for the second out, and her throw to first for a game-ending double play got away.
Martin County had another chance, and they took advantage with their game-winning rally.
The Bruins, again the Northeastern Coastal Conference Champions, finished the season with a 20-3 record while Martin County, 25-2, moves on to play Midway in the fifth round of the 2A state playoffs.
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