 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
School Sports
Lady Falcons fall to Washington in the rain in 14 innings By Brad Howell | Daily Times Staff Writer PIKEVILLE -- Extra innings aren't anything new to Emily Jordan or Charity Watson, but in Thursday night's second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A softball playoffs, survival was at stake. Washington High, the No. 2 seed from the Coastal Conference, rode Watson's dominant 24-strikeout performance to a 3-0, 14-inning win against Jordan and host Charles B. Aycock. The Pam Pack earned a trip to the third round for the first time in school history. Aycock, the No. 1 seed from the Eastern Carolina Conference, ends its season at 20-5 while the Lady Pam Pack improves to 17-4. The Lady Golden Falcons knew they would be in for a battle against Watson, a hard-throwing junior right-hander. But Aycock also liked its chances with senior left-hander Jordan on the mound. Jordan, who has signed with Methodist University, allowed just one hit through 10 innings but Watson was up to the task of matching her zero for zero on a rainy night in Pikeville. "It was a pitchers' duel without a doubt," Aycock first-year head coach Brad Matthews said. "Both of them did outstanding and (Watson) is the toughest pitcher we've faced all year. "Emily did great. She's not going to overpower you, but she's a smart pitcher and she got out of some tough situations tonight." Jordan went 14 innings, allowed six hits, walked seven and struck out 12. Watson allowed four hits and issued four walks. Watson led off with a single and was replaced by courtesy runner Caroline Smith. The next hitter bunted in an attempt to advance the runner, but Jordan pounced out of the pitching circle quickly and fired to second in plenty of time to get the force out. But the ball was dropped at second to leave two on with nobody out. It proved to be the break Washington needed. Brittany Moss, the next batter, ripped a single to score Smith for the game's first run almost three hours after it began. A base hit and another error on the infield allowed Washington to push across two more for a commanding 3-0 lead. Jordan reached after being hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom half, but Watson retired the next three in order to bring an end to the marathon. "It was just two good teams competing out there and in a game like that, whoever makes the first mistake is going to lose," Matthews said. "We made some errors, but we had our opportunities too." Washington left 13 on base while Aycock stranded 11. CBA outlasted Beddingfield in a 15-inning game earlier this year, but Washington was no stranger to long games either. Although it was the longest game this season for the Pam Pack, the team played two contests that went even longer last season. Watson struck out 35 in 15 innings and 33 in a 19 innings in those respective extra-inning affairs. "This is what we've been working for all season," said Watson, referring to getting past the second round. "This was our goal and we've came so far -- we just really wanted it. I'm sore, wet and tired, but we won." Aycock's best chance to score came in the seventh. Torie Benton recorded CBAs first hit of the game to lead off the inning, dropping a perfectly placed bunt that Watson couldn't corral in time to throw. Jordan walked and Anna Sullivan later hit a two-out single to load the bases, but Watson fanned the next two batters to escape the jam. "We battled hard, it just came down to who would make the errors first and we did," Jordan said. "There were plenty of opportunities to score but we didn't and they finally did. We were one step away but that's just how it goes." Benton, Sullivan, Jordan and Stevie Savage each had hits for the Lady Falcons. Seniors Jordan, Savage, Brooke Edgerton, Brittany Ford and Leigh Smith played their final high school games. "We're going to miss them," Matthews said. bhowell@wilsontimes.com | 265-7879 Score by innings: Washington 000 000 000 000 00 03 -- 0 C.B. Aycock 000 000 000 000 00 -- 0 WP- Charity Watson. LP-Emily Jordan. Washington LOB 13 CBA 11
Add Comment:  (All comments must be approved)
View Comments: (0 comments)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
