STATE 4-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS—DAY ONE
DEFENDING CHAMP BUTLER WINS TWO
RALEIGH—Defending state champion Matthews David Butler had to rally in the seventh and then exploded for six runs in the 14th to outlast Chapel Hill 7-1 and move into the championship game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 4-A softball championships at Walnut Creek Softball Complex on Friday night.
A Constance Orr home run in the seventh tied the game at 1-1 and then Butler finally put together five hits in the 14th to break it open and run its record to 28-0.
Ashton Ward went the distance on the mound for the winners, fanning 19 and also helping her cause with two hits. Sarah Raper had three hits and Jessica Bowen two for Butler.
Catcher Lizzie Goldbach had three hits for Chapel Hill, which dropped to 24-6.
Ward had fired a shutout at North Davidson in the opening game on Friday, striking out 12 in picking up a 2-0 win and scoring a run herself.
Chapel Hill opened play with a 3-0 victory over Fayetteville Pine Forest as Samme Lisowsky pitched a five-hit shutout and Goldbach again led the Tigers at the plate, going two for four.
Pine Forest was then eliminated by North Davidson in a taut, 1-0 nine-ining game. Danielle Glosson got the win for North and Markita Elmore was charged with the loss, despite striking out 17 and scattering six hits.
Tisha Mahon went two for four and had the run-scoring hit in the ninth that broke the scoreless tie. Pine Forest finished the season 25-5.
Chapel Hill will face North Davidson (30-2) in an 11 am Saturday game for the right to advance and play Butler in the championship. If a team from the loser’s bracket wins that game, then another will follow at 4 p.m. to decide the title.
2007 STATE 4-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
WALNUT CREEK SOFTBALL COMPLEX, RALEIGH
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
STATE SEMIFINALS
Chapel Hill 3, Fayetteville Pine Forest 0
Matthews David Butler 2, North Davidson 0
WINNER’S BRACKET FINAL
David Butler 7, Chapel Hill 1 (14 innings)
ELIMINATION GAME
North Davidson 1, Pine Forest 0 (9 innings)
LOSER’S BRACKET FINAL
North Davidson (30-2) vs. Chapel Hill (24-6), Saturday at 11 am
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
David Butler (28-0) vs. North Davidson-Chapel Hill winner, 1:30 pm
STATE 3-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS—DAY ONE
SOUTHWESTERN RANDOLPH ADVANCES
RALEIGH – Southwestern Randolph won a pair of games on Friday to advance to the championship game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 3-A softball championships at Walnut Creek Softball Complex.
Southwestern, now 29-1, beat two-time defending champion Kings Mountain 2-1 in nine innings in its opener and then shut out Greenville D.H. Conley 4-0 in the winner’s bracket final to move into the championship game of the double-elimination event.
Southwestern Randolph will face the survivor of a Saturday morning loser’s bracket final between Conley and Kings Mountain for the title. If a team from the loser’s bracket wins that one, a decisive game will follow at 4 p.m.
Sophomore Anna Maness got the pitching victory for Southwestern against Kings Mountain, fanning 12 and yielding five hits. Morgan Childers was the losing pitcher despite 16 strikeouts.
Catcher Brittany York had a couple of spectacular defensive plays for the victorious Lady Cougars, including picking a pair of runners off first base, one of which was the final out of the game in the ninth.
Behind a route-going performance by Brittany Marsh on the mound, Southwestern blanked Conley 4-0, rallying for four runs in the sixth. Ashley Seawell’s double keyed the rally for the winners. Suzanne Riggs got the loss for Conley.
Conley had opened play with a 1-0 nine-inning victory over Harnett Central, with a double by Breanna Andrews in the ninth plating the only run of the game.
Kings Mountain then eliminated Harnett Central 2-0 as Childers fired a three-hit shutout and fanned 12.
The Mountaineers got two hits from Chasiti Falls while Toni Ann Williford had two hits for Harnett, which ended its season at 29-3.
2007 STATE 3-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
WALNUT CREEK SOFTBALL COMPLEX, RALEIGH
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
STATE SEMIFINALS
Greenville D.H. Conley 1, Harnett Central 0 (9 innings)
Southwestern Randolph 2, Kings Mountain 1 (9 innings)
WINNER’S BRACKET FINAL
Southwestern Randolph 4, D.H. Conley 0
ELIMINATION GAME
Kings Mountain 2, Harnett Central 0
LOSER’S BRACKET FINAL
D.H. Conley (26-3) vs. Kings Mountain (27-3), Saturday at 11 am
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Southwestern Randolph (29-1) vs. Conley-Kings Mountain winner, 1:30 pm
STATE 2-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS—DAY ONE
LEONARD LEADS CENTRAL DAVIDSON TO WINS IN 2-A SOFTBALL
RALEIGH – Chelsea Leonard of Central Davidson struck out 35 in her team’s two games as Central won a pair of 5-0 decisions and advanced to the winner’s bracket finals of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 2-A softball championships at Walnut Creek Softball Complex on Friday night.
Leonard whiffed 17 and did not allow a hit in the six innings she worked in the opening game, a 5-0 decision over Swain County in which she struck out the first 10 batters of the game. Then she fanned 18 in a one-hit, 5-0 blanking of Bunn in the winner’s bracket finals.
Central (31-1) will await the winner of the Saturday morning loser’s bracket final between South Brunswick (25-4) and Bunn (20-8). If one of those teams wins in the 1:30 championship matchup, a second game will follow at 4 p.m.
Freshman Nicole Perry had three hits and Erin Cole drove in two runs in the Central victory over Bunn. Ashlea Satterwhite’s single in the seventh was Bunn’s only hit.
Gina Antonucci led Central Davidson at the plate in its opening win over Smoky Mountain. The only Smoky hit in the contest was a single by Trisha Brooks.
Bunn won its opener, blanking South Brunswick 1-0 behind a 16-strikeout performance by pitcher Ashley Driver, who also had two hits and scored the only run of the game. Candace Piner was the losing pitcher.
In the elimination game, South Brunswick stayed alive and ousted Smoky Mountain 2-0. Piner went the distance on the mound, striking out 10. Smoky Mountain’s three errors in the sixth led to a pair of unearned runs that were the difference.
Ragan Evans had two hits for the winners while Cassie Randall had two hits for Smoky, which ended its season 17-13 overall.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
2007 STATE 2-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
WALNUT CREEK SOFTBALL COMPLEX, RALEIGH
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
STATE SEMIFINALS
Bunn 1, South Brunswick 0
Central Davidson 5, Smoky Mountain 0
WINNER’S BRACKET FINAL
Central Davidson 5, Bunn 0
ELIMINATION GAME
South Brunswick 2, Smoky Mountain 0
LOSER’S BRACKET FINAL
South Brunswick (25-4) vs. Bunn (20-8), Saturday at 11 am
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Central Davidson (31-1) vs. South Brunswick-Bunn winner, Saturday at 1:30
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
STATE 1-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS—DAY ONE
ROPER LEADS PENDER TO VICTORIES
RALEIGH – Britney Roper led her team on the mound and at the plate as Pender picked up a pair of victories on Friday night in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 1-A softball championships at Walnut Creek Softball Complex.
Roper picked up both pitching victories and led her team at the plate in both games as the Patriots opened with a 6-2 win over Gates County and then knocked off North Moore 5-3.
Pender (27-2), the defending state champs, will await the winner of the Swain (24-6) -North Moore (25-7) loser’s bracket final on Saturday morning in the 1:30 championship. If a loser’s bracket survivor wins that game, then another would follow at 4 p.m.
Roper had a solo homer among her two hits and pitched four and one-third innings of perfect softball in the win over Gates. Jalissa Bradley had a two-run homer for Gates in the sixth, but it was not enough.
Then Roper went two for three at the plate and struck out eight as Pender topped North Moore. Guss Crist has a solo homer for the winners and Allison Braswell was tagged with the pitching defeat.
North Moore began play with a 3-0 victory over Swain County, behind Braswell’s shutout pitching and 10 strikeouts. Megan McNeill had two hits for the winners and Jasmine Covington drove in a run.
Gates was then eliminated by Swain 4-2 as the Maroon Devils rallied from a 2-0 deficit. Bradley had another two-run homer in this one, which ended Gates’ season at 17-10.
Kristen Cook was the winning pitcher while Courtney Hobbs took the loss,
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
2007 STATE 1-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
WALNUT CREEK SOFTBALL COMPLEX, RALEIGH
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
STATE SEMIFINALS
Pender 6, Gates County 2
North Moore 3, Swain County 0
WINNER’S BRACKET FINAL
Pender 5, North Moore 3
ELIMINATION GAME
Swain County 4, Gates 2
LOSER’S BRACKET FINAL
Swain County (24-6) vs. North Moore (25-7), Saturday at 11 am
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Pender (27-2) vs. Swain-North Moore winner, Saturday at 1:30 pm
