LUMBERTON — Halona Sampson pitched a two-hit shutout and the Lumberton softball team’s bats came alive early and late as the Pirates beat visiting Sanderson 10-0 in six innings in the first round of the 4A state playoffs Tuesday.
Lumberton (23-4), the No. 7 seed in the 4A East Region, advanced to the second round and will host No. 10 Cleveland on Friday. Cleveland beat No. 23 Jordan 10-0 in its first-round game Tuesday.
Sampson struck out 12 batters with two walks and no runs allowed in six innings for the Pirates.
“Halona, she was just dominant tonight,” Lumberton coach Mackie Register said. “Our bats, we started out hot in the first inning … then we kind of just fell asleep between the second and fourth and then had to turn it back on in the fifth. We played good defense, good pitching, and the bats finally woke up again in the fifth inning.”
Tiara Stueck hit a two-run home run in the first inning that plated Aniya Merritt. Alona Hanna reached on an error, stole second and third and scored on an error for a 3-0 lead.
Alona Hanna stole six bases on the night, taking second and third base each of the three times she reached base.
“Loni, she was tearing up the bases tonight,” Register said. “For some reason they wouldn’t cover (third), so when we got to second base we could walk to third. But Loni set the tone; she’s been playing really well for us. She can do it with her legs, her bat and her glove; she’s been playing well on defense too.”
The Pirates scored five runs in the fifth. Stueck singled to drive in Merritt and a Carlee Register infield single allowed courtesy runner Leea Wilkins to score. Jayla Hunt reached on an error with Alona Hanna and Jaelyn Hammond coming home on the play, then Sampson singled to plate Carlee Register.
Alyssa Stone doubled in the sixth before taking third and home on wild pitches, and Alona Hanna walked, stole second and third and scored on an error for the run-rule inducing 10th run.
Merritt, Stueck, Alona Hanna and Sampson each had two hits for the Pirates. Stueck had three RBIs and Sampson had one, while Merritt had two steals, reaching 100 for her career.
Stone, Hammond and Register each had one hit, with Register and Hunt recording one RBI each.
Mason Stanley and Sloane Thorpe had one hit apiece for Sanderson (8-11-1).
Lumberton, which tied a program record with its 23rd win of the season, will seek its first third-round appearance in school history as it plays Friday’s second-round contest against Cleveland.
“They’re going to be a good team,” Register said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. If we can win Friday night we’ll set the school record in wins, but the main thing would be to get to that third round, that was one of our goals at the beginning of the season.”
Big sixth inning sends Heide Trask past St. Pauls
The St. Pauls softball team lost Tuesday’s first-round 2A state playoff game at Heide Trask 13-7 after the Titans scored nine runs in the sixth inning.
No. 21 St. Pauls (16-7) led No. 12 Heide Trask (16-3) 7-4 before the nine-run frame.
The Bulldogs scored one run each in the first and second innings and two in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead. Heide Trask scored one in the third, but St. Pauls answered with three in the fourth to lead 7-1. The Titans scored three in the fifth to pull to a 7-4 gap before the pivotal sixth.
Heide Trask will face No. 5 Washington in Friday’s second round.
Rams advance, Pirates eliminated in United-8 soccer tourney
The second-seeded Purnell Swett girls soccer team earned a 9-0 win over Seventy-First in the quarterfinals of the United-8 Conference soccer tournament.
Kyndallon Oxendine and Josie McLean each scored two goals with two assists for Purnell Swett (20-1), Gracie Wilkerson had two goals, Sarah Hunt had one goal and one assist, Ava Giles and Anileigh Locklear each had one goal and Myah Hunt had one assist.
The Rams will face No. 3 Jack Britt, who beat No. 6 South View Tuesday.
No. 5 Lumberton lost its quarterfinal game 2-0 to No. 4 Gray’s Creek Tuesday. The loss ends the Pirates’ season.
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