2A Softball Championship: South Granville sweeps Franklin with 7-0 win in Game 2
GREENSBORO – South Granville and Franklin were locked in a tight pitcher’s duel until the top of the fifth inning when the Vikings broke through for three runs, giving their starter Brooke Bowling some breathing room on their way to a 7-0 win in game 2 of the 2A State Championship Series and a sweep. The Vikings claimed their fifth NCHSAA fast-pitch State Championship.
Bowling was sensational in the game, hurling a complete game shutout while only allowing two hits for Franklin, striking out four Panthers and allowing two walks. She only needed 82 pitches to complete the seven innings of game two.
South Granville got on the board in the fifth when Jenna Curry lifted a sacrifice fly into left field that brought home Garce Calus making it 1-0 with two outs. Then a fielding error allowed Jordan Talley and Emma Jones to score, giving the Vikings a 3-0 cushion. Brianne Coleman tacked on another run for South Granville with a solo homer in the sixth to put the Vikings up 4-0.
Jones was named the series M.V.P. for South Granville going 1 for 4 in game two with a run scored. In last night’s game one she was 3 for 6 with a run scored and the game-winning RBI on a double in the 12thinning.
The Vikings added some insurance in the top of the seventh, as Talley came around to score on an RBI double by Curry. Two batters later, Megan White blasted a two-run shot out to left putting South Granville ahead by the final margin of 7-0.
Franklin dropped to 24-3 on the year, 10-0 as the champions of the Mountain Six 2A. The Panthers won the Western Regional for the first time in program history and earned their first State Championship berth.
South Granville finished the year 28-0. The Vikings were the champions of the Northern Carolina 1A/2A where they posted a 16-0 mark. The Vikings won their fifth NCHSAA State Softball Championship in the fast-pitch era, and their third in the last four years.
2A Softball Championship: South Granville sneaks past Franklin 3-2 in twelve to win game 1
GREENSBORO – The South Granville Vikings nabbed game on of the 2A Softball Championship Series with a 3-2 win in 12 innings versus Franklin. The Vikings walked off winners after Emma Jones doubled in Grace Calus to take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 12th.
Franklin jumped on the board first, scoring in the top of the first inning when Paige Norton’s RBI single brought home Haeli Bryson. The Vikings answered back with two in the bottom of the first when Jones and Jenna Curry both scored on wild pitches giving South Granville a 2-1 lead.
The Panthers tied the game in the fourth, as Taylor Carlton lifted a sacrifice fly into center field to score Neveah Tran who had reached on a leadoff walk.
The two starting pitchers both went the full distance as Brooke Bowling threw all 12 innings for South Granville. She was the winning pitcher, striking out 13 and scattering 8 hits and 7 walks while allowing just 2 earned runs. Haeli Bryson went 11.2 innings in the game, striking out 9 and issuing 3 walks. She allowed 7 hits and 3 runs, two of them earned. South Caldwell looks to close out the series in Game 2, which was pushed to Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at UNCG Softball Stadium.
