South Central’s softball team figured if it was going to go down, it was going down swinging — literally.
While the Falcons’ offense was much more productive in Game 2 than in Game 1, it could not overcome two big innings by South Brunswick as the Cougars won 14-3 on Wednesday to sweep the best-of-three NCHSAA Class 3A East Regional series 2-0.
“We didn’t play well the last two days, but you have to hand it to their team,” South Central coach Cotton Nicholson said. “They pitched well, they caught the ball and they hit the ball well.
South Brunswick (25-4), winners of 10 consecutive games, advances to the NCHSAA Class 3A state championship series.
After being held to one hit and striking out 10 times against South Brunswick starting pitcher Kina Davis in Game 1 — an 11-0 victory by the Cougars — South Central came out swinging the bats in Game 2.
It took six pitches for South Central to match its offensive output in Game 1 as Maddie Zobre led off with a double to the left-field power alley. She came home two batters later on a solid single by Haven Roebuck. Another single by Kamdyn Haislip and a single up the middle by Lacey Spivey drove in Roebuck to stake the Falcons to a 2-0 lead.
Four of South Central’s first five batters in the order had hits, and there were numerous pitches fouled off, not the mark of a team being excessively picky with its pitch selection.
“We did a better job swinging the bat tonight than we did last night,” Nicholson said. “I thought we had turned the corner.”
“I knew they wouldn’t (go away quietly),” South Brunswick coach James Pierce said. “When you get in the regionals, you’re a good ball club. And I told the team today that they’re playing with house money. We won Game 1, they’ve got nothing to lose, they’re going to come out, they’re going to scrap, they’re going to swing the bat.”
Davis singlehandedly limited the first-inning damage by catching a pop-up bunt attempt by Savannah Ibarra and firing to first base to double off Spivey to end the Falcons’ threat.
“That was tremendous,” Pierce said. “It goes back to what we talk about all the time: Make 100 percent of the routine plays in a ballgame, and extraordinary plays half the time. When we do that, we’re pretty good defensively.”
The Cougars immediately roared back as Addison Woodruff singled to start the second inning, and Kendra Goodwin followed with an infield single. Two batters later, Olivia Brown was walked to load the bases. Woodruff scored on a fielder’s choice, and Savana Burgess was issued a two-out walk to again load the bases.
Goodwin scored on a passed ball, and Brown also crossed the plate on a throwing error back to the plate on the passed ball. Burgess scored on a another passed ball to put the Cougars up 4-2.
“We gave them a couple of runs on mistakes,” Nicholson said. “Then we opened the door and little bit further the next time, and we stopped hitting the ball. We got a couple of hits but couldn’t get the big hit.”
Davis found her groove in the circle, retiring nine of 10 batters in the second through fourth innings, five by strikeout.
In the fifth inning, though, Blaire Adee singled with one out for the Falcons. Zobre’s sacrifice bunt resulted in a throwing error that allowed Adee to score to trim South Central’s deficit to one as Zobre to advance to third. Davis got a strikeout, then Roebuck was intentionally walked. Davis then induced a outfield flyout to help the Cougars cling to their slim lead.
And again, South Brunswick answered — in a big way. The Cougars sent 11 batters to the plate. Seven hits and two South Central errors yielded six runs to make the score 10-4.
Two two-run home runs by Brown and Carly Clewis in the seventh inning completed the scoring for the Cougars.
Davis went the distance, scattering seven hits, striking out seven and not walking a batter. Two of the three runs she gave up were earned.
Spivey went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI for the Falcons, while Zobre also finished with two hits and a run scored.
“We had a great year,” Nicholson said. “They did a great job this year. Hope to build on this because we have most of them back.”
A young team, South Central loses just two seniors to graduation in Ibarra and Tellia Wallace, meaning the Falcons should contend again next season with the bulk of the lineup and its two best pitchers returning.
“I think most of them got a taste of what it is to be on top,” Nicholson said. “This taste is to drive them for next year, and the pitchers will have more experience. They were a little nervous the last couple of days. I think they’ll be much, much better next spring.”
South Central finished the season with a 20-7 record.
Most Popular
Comments / 0