Alexander Central, Southwestern Randolph, East Surry Win Softball Titles

June 6, 2009

NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

STATE 4-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS—DAY TWO

ALEXANDER CENTRAL WINS OVER NORTH DAVIDSON FOR 4-A TITLE

RALEIGH— Freshman pitcher Chelsea Wilkinson gave up just three hits and went the distance as Alexander Central nipped North Davidson 2-1 in the championship game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 4-A softball championships at Walnut Creek Softball Complex on Saturday.

The young righthander, who was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament, had fired a complete game shutout and struck out 13 in the Lady Cougars’ opening win by 3-0 over North Davidson in a battle of 28-1 teams Friday night. She struck out 12 in her Saturday effort.

In the final, North took a 1-0 lead in the second but Alexander tied it with a run in the bottom of the fifth and then senior first baseman Brittany Loudermilt drove home the winning run with a base hit in the sixth.

Hannah Alexander was the losing pitcher in relief.

Alexander Central finished with a record 31-1 while North Davidson wound up 30-3, with both losses in the championship to the Lady Cougars. It was Alexander’s first fast pitch softball state title since 1996.

North Davidson had advanced to the championship game earlier on Saturday with a 4-0 victory over Fuquay-Varina in the loser’s bracket final. Alexander limited Fuquay-Varina to just two hits and struck out 11.

Junior outfielder Amelia Griffin was a perfect four for four while Tisha Mahon had three hits and Tara Aldridge two for the winners. Alex Ryan got the loss for the Tigers, who ended the year 21-6 overall.

The Raleigh Sports Consortium and the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau are among the host city sponsors for the championships.

NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

2009 STATE 4-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

WALNUT CREEK SOFTBALL COMPLEX, RALEIGH

STATE SEMIFINALS

Fuquay-Varina 1, New Bern 0 (10 innings)

Alexander Central 3, North Davidson 0

WINNER’S BRACKET FINAL

Alexander Central 10, Fuquay-Varina 0 (5 innings)

ELIMINATION GAME

North Davidson 3, New Bern 0

LOSER’S BRACKET FINAL

North Davidson 4, Fuquay-Varina 0

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Alexander Central 2, North Davidson 1

NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

STATE 3-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS—DAY TWO

SOUTHWESTERN RANDOLPH CAPTURES NCHSAA 3-A SOFTBALL CROWN

RALEIGH – Brooke Hayes had four hits and Kelsey Hoover drove home a couple of runs to help lift Southwestern Randolph to a 5-2 triumph over Asheville T.C. Roberson in the title game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 3-A softball championships on Saturday at Walnut Creek Softball Complex.

Senior pitcher Anna Maness was named Most Valuable Player of the championship as she earned all three pitching victories for Southwestern, striking out six and scattering five hits in the final. Maness fanned 14 in the opener Friday night as Southwestern beat Roberson 4-1 and also helped her cause offensively with a couple of hits. Then in the winner’s bracket final Maness struck out seven and scattered five hits in a 4-1 triumph over Pikeville C.B. Aycock.

In the title game, Southwestern struck for three runs in the first and made them stand, with Hoover’s two-run single in the first a key blow.

Roberson got on the board in the second on a solo home run by Brooke McDonald, who was also the losing pitcher, and then scored a run in the third to cut the margin to 3-2. But the Lady Cougars got RBI singles from Olivia Hunt and Hannah Hughes in the third to push the advantage to 5-2.

Sophomore Taylor Goode had two hits for Roberson, which finished 30-4 overall. Olivia Hickman also had a couple of hits for Southwestern, which ended the season 30-1 and earned its third NCHSAA softball title in the last nine years in two different classifications. The Lady Cougars are a young team with only three seniors on the roster.

Earlier in the day in the loser’s bracket final, T.C. Roberson banged out 14 hits and outlasted Aycock 9-7. Kaitlin Ramsay rapped out three hits and drove in two for Roberson while Ashley Ellis, Ashley Green and Amanda Cope had two hits apiece for the winners.

Brooke Bell had a big game for Aycock with three hits in four trips to the plate and four runs batted in, and Torie Benton had three hits. The Golden Falcons got down 4-0 and kept battling back but couldn’t overtake Roberson. Aycock was eliminated from the tournament with a 26-4 record.

The Raleigh Sports Consortium and the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau are among the host city sponsors for the championships.

NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

2009 STATE 3-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

WALNUT CREEK SOFTBALL COMPLEX, RALEIGH

STATE SEMIFINALS

Pikeville Charles B. Aycock 4, Erwin Triton 1

Southwestern Randolph 4, Asheville T.C. Roberson 1

WINNER’S BRACKET FINAL

Southwestern Randolph 4, C.B. Aycock 1

ELIMINATION GAME

T.C. Roberson 6, Triton 0

LOSER’S BRACKET FINAL

T.C. Roberson 9, C.B. Aycock 7

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Southwestern Randolph 5, T.C. Roberson 2

NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

STATE 1-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

EAST SURRY COMES BACK TO BEAT NORTH JOHNSTON, TAKE 1-A TITLE

RALEIGH – Courtney Simmons hit a solo homer for the only run of the game and the brilliant pitching of Hayley Shelton made it stand up as East Surry nipped North Johnston 1-0 on Saturday afternoon to win the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 1-A softball championship at Walnut Creek Softball Complex.

Shelton blanked North Johnston on seven hits and struck out 11 to give her 66 strikeouts for the four games she pitched in the double-elimination event, earning her Most Valuable Player honors. Her 66 strikeouts represent the third-best strikeout total by a pitcher in the history of the NCHSAA fast-pitch championships.

Simmons, who had two hits in three at bats, hit her homer in the fifth but North Johnston wasn’t through. The Panthers got a runner to third with nobody out in the seventh and then had the bases loaded with one out but Shelton fanned the next two hitters to clinch the championship.

East Surry had to beat North Johnston twice to win the title. A deciding game was forced by East’s 2-1 nine-inning victory over North Johnston that gave the Panthers their first loss of the double elimination event. The Cardinals rallied from a 1-0 deficit to tie it in the seventh on an unearned run which scored on a sacrifice fly by Sam Smith.

Smith’s double in the ninth then brought home the eventual winning run. North had grabbed a 1-0 in the fourth when Kasey Creech tripled and later scored on an error.

Shelton went the distance to get the win and recorded 16 strikeouts while giving up six hits, while Creech gave up just four hits and no earned runs but was the losing pitcher.

In the loser’s bracket final Saturday morning, East Surry scored three unearned runs and downed Swain 3-0. Both teams managed only two hits, but the Cardinals did not have a hit until the seventh and scored two runs without benefit of a hit in the sixth.

Shelton was the winning pitcher for East, fanning 10, while Shelby Parker was charged with the loss. East scored a pair in the sixth on an error and wild pitch and then another run scored in the seventh on a wild pitch after Sam Smith had doubled.

Bop Walkingstick had a double in three trips for Swain, which finished 22-8 overall.

The Raleigh Sports Consortium and the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau are among the host city sponsors for the championships.