WILLIAMSTON – Martin County High School’s softball team battled until the final out, but it is Midway who is moving on after the Raiders held on for a 7-3 victory in Game Two and a sweep of the NCHSAA Class 2A East Regional Championship Series Thursday night (May 23).
Midway, the No. 3 seed, improved to 21-3 overall and returns to the Class 2A state championship series next weekend to face Southwestern Randolph.
Martin County, the No. 4 seed, concluded its season 25-4 overall.
The home team, which lost 11-0 in five innings two days before to the Raiders and faced a must-win situation to force a third and decisive game back in Spivey’s Corner, fared much better at the plate against Midway pitchers Jordie Christopher and Kyleigh Stonerock, as it amassed five hits through five innings.
Martin scored twice against the latter in the bottom of the fifth inning to get within two runs at 5-3.
Riley Cowan walked and Ty’Hiera Wooten was hit by a pitch to start the frame. They moved up on Whitney Stevens’ groundout to first base, and they scored on a double to left centerfield gap by Peyton Lane, who finished with three hits on the evening.
A walk to Izzy Williams prompted a pitching change for the Raiders, and Sarah Autry (who two-hit Martin on Tuesday) came in with two Martin County runners on base and just one out.
But the first of three baserunning miscues hampered the home team’s comeback attempt.
Erica Sturgill greeted Autry with a single to right field, but Midway rightfielder Sam Carter fired to catcher Mollie Bass, who tagged out Aniya Williams (running for Lane) at the plate for the second out. Sturgill stole second but Autry struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Midway added a run in the top of the sixth on two hits and a pair of fielder’s choices. The second one was controversial, as shortstop Rylah Etheridge’s throw to Gabby Bennett at the plate was clearly in time to retire Ella Clark for what would have been the second out. The home plate umpire ruled that Bennett didn’t have her foot on the plate when she caught the throw, however, and Clark’s run made it 6-3 after MC head coach Bob Lilley vehemently argued the upheld call and was summarily ejected.
Wes Hughes, MC’s athletic director, took over head coaching duties after Lilley was ejected.
Martin then got out of the inning one batter later when Stevens made a running catch of a looping liner in shallow left field and doubled Mia Gwynn off of third base.
Martin’s second baserunning mistake came in the bottom of the sixth when Cowan bunted and reached on a throwing error, but Cowan was thrown out at second for the final out of the frame.
The Raiders added their final run in the top of the seventh when Clark smacked a two-out single to centerfield to bring home Bass, who reached on an error and advanced to second, then moved to third on Christopher’s sacrifice bunt.
Martin County’s final chance came in the bottom of the seventh, when Whitney Stevens lined a single off the glove of a diving Gwynn in right centerfield. Gwynn recovered and fired to Kiley Ives at second base to nab Stevens for the second out, and a liner to Gwynn ended the home team’s season.
Midway took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The first run (Kiley Ives) scored on a clutch, two-out single by McKenzie Williams; the second (Eva McLamb) crossed on a wild pitch.
Martin stranded a runner in the bottom of the first (Lane with a two-out single) but cut the deficit in half with a run in the second on an errant pickoff throw to third.
Midway collected two more runs in the top of the third on three hits (two of them bunt singles), two walks and a wild pitch to make it 4-1. The Raiders added a run in the top of the fifth on Bass’s two-out bloop single to left center that brought in Stonerock, who walked and moved to third after Ives’ sacrifice bunt and a groundout from McKenzie Williams.
Bennett added two hits for Martin County.
The game was the final one in the Martin County high school softball careers of Lane and Aniya Williams.
Local News
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