DUDLEY -- Bats that thundered figuratively and a pitcher who was on fire, somewhat literally, proved more than Hunt's varsity softball team could handle.

The visiting Lady Warriors got off to a promising start in Wednesday evening's semifinal round of the 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference tournament at Southern Wayne, but booming bats and a dominating performance by Lady Saints pitcher Lauren Darden reversed that scenario in a 7-1 Southern Wayne romp.

The second-seeded Lady Saints, regular-season co-champions and 18-4 overall, will travel to top-seeded Charles B. Aycock, the other co-champion, to settle the tournament championship Friday night at 7.

As for the third-seeded Lady Warriors, who dropped to 15-7, they will hit the road Tuesday for the opening round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association state playoffs, most likely at Currituck County in Barco.

The Lady Warriors, winners against Southern Wayne near the close of the regular season, seemed once again ready to rumble after a half inning of play.

Second baseman Lauren Langley led off the game with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a fielder's choice, then scampered home following a passed ball.

The inning, however, would pretty much be it for the Lady Warriors' offense, thanks to that pitcher who was on fire.

Southern Wayne's Darden never sported flames, but a high fever from a sore-throat bug left her feeling plenty of heat. Darden, however, brought plenty of heat as well.

"Lauren wasn't feeling very well tonight," said Southern Wayne head coach Michael Wiggs, who fretted over the first few innings as to how long Darden's stamina might hold.

"She's a gamer, though. Once she got settled in, she was pretty tough."

Once Southern Wayne's batters settled in, they proved fairly tough as well.

Southern answered Hunt's first-inning run with a run of its own in the bottom of the first. The score remained knotted for the next two innings, then the booming began.

Lady Saints Morgan Davis and Meredith Davis led off the fourth with a single and double, respectively, and each eventually scored via a sacrifice fly and a Jordan Hill single, respectively.

In the fifth the thunder just got louder.

Alyssa Bradshaw and Lindsey Pearsall opened the inning with back-to-back doubles, chasing Hunt starting pitcher Jessica Mayo (13-6).

The switch did not slow the Lady Saints much as the Davis girls each added another hit -- Morgan a single and Meredith a double, -- to drive home another pair of runs.

"They just knocked the cover off of the ball," Hunt head coach Riley Hurdle said of the Lady Saints, who ended up with 11 hits. "They started putting them in the gaps, and they nearly ran our outfielders to death.

"It was just one of those nights."

Score by innings:

Hunt 100 000 0 -- 1

Southern Wayne 100 231 x -- 7

WP-Lauren Darden. LP-Jessica Mayo (13-6).