Neither team could earn anything, but unfortunately for Beddingfield's varsity softball team, Eastern Wayne found a way to score anyway.

A pair of first-inning errors and game-long anemia at the plate created an early exit for the fourth-seeded, homestanding Lady Bruins as No. 5 seed Eastern Wayne posted a 1-0 victory Tuesday in the opening round of the 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference Tournament on Tuesday.

Beddingfield, which fell to 7-9 on the season, now has a week off before traveling to Bertie next Tuesday for the opening round of the N.C. High Athletic Association state playoffs.

The Lady Warriors will carry an 8-17 record into tonight's second-round ECC match up at top-seeded Charles B. Aycock.

An Eastern Wayne hit, a Beddingfield outfield error, and an Eastern Wayne steal to open the game left Lady Warriors at second and third and Beddingfield staring at trouble.

A strikeout by pitcher Tessa Elliot and a pop up to her sister, Casey, greatly aided Beddingfield's efforts at damage control. However, a ground ball that could have ended the inning turned into yet another error (the second of five on the day), allowing Eastern Wayne's Casey Mitchell to score from third.

Lindsey Frederick tried to score from second on the play, but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

At that point, few envisioned that they had witnessed what would be the game's only run. However, more early bad luck for the Lady Bruins combined with a dominating performance from Lady Warriors pitcher Lani Fricks allowed that run to stand.

Fricks was taking a toll of her own by then as well. Masterfully mixing her fastball and changeup, Fricks allowed just two Beddingfield hits while striking out four.

"I couldn't be more proud of the way Lani has thrown the ball over the past four games," first-year Eastern Wayne head coach Tony Parrish said. "She has progressed and really stepped it up. She's cut down on her walks and has let her defense play behind her."

Despite a pair of errors, Eastern Wayne's defense was indeed solid, coming up with several nice plays in the latter innings to defuse Lady Bruins rallies before the could start.

The last of the aforementioned errors came with one out in the bottom of the seventh, allowing Tessa Elliot to reach. Courtesy runner Dominique Kent then advanced to second on a passed ball before moving to third on a fielder's choice.

Kent could advance no farther, though, as Fricks induced a groundout to end the game.

"I thought it was going to be a close, hard-fought ballgame," Parrish said. "I'm proud of them for hanging in there and playing tough defense. It was just the way I want my girls to play."

Howard, however, hopes to see another brand of ball from his team next week.

"Maybe we can do it in the first round of the state playoffs, but some time I'd like to see us come out and start a game at a rapid pace," Howard said. "Today we played at a pace more like a beetle. I'd like for us to start with that rapid pace just once so that we could see what would happen."

Perhaps that new pace will emerge amidst the pine trees of Bertie County next week.

Score by innings:

Eastern Wayne 100 000 0 -- 1

Beddingfield 000 000 0 -- 0

WP-Lani Fricks. LP-Tessa Elliott.