Tuesday’s HS Rewind: East Forsyth pitcher shuts down Marvin Ridge softball in Game 1
The Marvin Ridge softball team has less than 24 hours to solve a problem that few other teams have been able to solve this season – getting hits off East Forsyth pitcher Kierston Deal.
Oh, the Mavericks got a few hits Tuesday night off Deal, the East Forsyth pitching standout who plans to play next season at the University of Oklahoma.
But when Marvin Ridge needed a hit to bring home a runner, Deal usually ended the threat with a strikeout.
She fanned 17 and drove in the game’s only run as the visiting Eagles edged Marvin Ridge 1-0 in eight innings, taking Game 1 of the 4A West Regional best-of-three series.
Game 2 is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at East Forsyth.
To even the series, Marvin Ridge will have to solve the Kierston Deal Puzzle.
“We got some hits, but we just couldn’t string anything together,” Marvin Ridge coach Linda McGowan said.
The Mavericks (20-3) got four hits, including a two-out third-inning triple by Katriel Williams. But Deal recovered and struck out Cam Pfister, who had doubled in the first inning, to end the threat.
In the bottom of the sixth, Marvin Ridge had a runner at second with one out. But Deal fanned cleanup hitter Anna McGowan and then struck out Lexi Kirby.
The Mavericks’ 3-4-5 hitters went 1-for-10 and struck out eight times.
“We’ll look at what we did and try to determine whether it’s timing, or mechanics, or something else,” Linda McGowan said.
The loss overshadowed a strong effort by Mavericks’ freshman pitcher Anna Phifer. She struck out only four, but she kept the Eagles (25-1) off the scoreboard in the regulation seven innings.
East Forsyth had runners at second and third in the first inning, but Phifer got out of the jam by forcing Sophie Lecnar to pop out to first.
Deal took matters into her own hands in the eighth inning.
With a runner on second and two out, she laced a single to right field, scoring Grace Flynn from second base.
“It was the kind of game I expected,” McGowan said. “We scratched and clawed, and it was close. We just needed a clutch hit and didn’t get it.”
Baseball
Cherryville 9, Union Academy 1: The host Ironmen rolled to victory in Game 1 of the 1A West Regional finals. Cherryville scored four times in the bottom of the first and added four in the second for an 8-1 lead.
Chase Miller smacked a three-run homer as part of the first-inning outburst. Starting pitcher Brayden Reynolds got the victory.
Game 2 is Thursday night at Union Academy.
Girls’ soccer
CLASS 4A
Page 1, Myers Park 0: The host Pirates scored off a corner kick in the second half, then shut down the Mustangs (13-4-3). It ended Myers Park’s bid to repeat as 4A state champion. Page will host Weddington in a quarterfinal match Thursday, weather permitting.
Hough 3, T.C. Roberson 1: The host Huskies rallied from a 1-0 deficit and advanced to a quarterfinal match at Ardrey Kell. Savannah Bishop, Ella Matthews and Elon Rutty-Andre scored for Hough (22-1-1).
Ardrey Kell 1, Marvin Ridge 0: The second-seeded Knights (23-1-1) got a goal from Grace Meyers, then relied on their defense for the victory. Marvin Ridge finished with a 19-4-2 record. Ardrey Kell will host Hough in the quarterfinals Thursday, weather permitting.
CLASS 3A
East Lincoln 3, Asheboro 0: Devin Poteat scored in the first half, and Grace Harpster added an insurance goal early in the second half. The Mustangs (18-3-3) advanced to a quarterfinal match Thursday at top-seeded Lake Norman Charter.
South Point 5, Atkins 0: Emme Lewandoski scored two goals and added an assist, as the second-seeded Raiders (22-0) advanced to a quarterfinal match at home Thursday against West Henderson. Jordan Villemagne scored two goals, and Grace Smith added a goal and two assists.
Monday’s Rewind: bad stretch ends Independence’s dream season
Weddington’s 1-0 upset victory over host Independence in a third-round 4A girls’ soccer match Monday night carried plenty of twists and turns.
But the outcome essentially was decided in a four-minute span of the first half.
During that time, Independence didn’t get a goal the Patriots thought they had … and then Weddington got a goal it might not have expected.
“It was crazy, how they got their goal just a few minutes after we almost scored,” Independence coach Andrew Shimko said. “Everything changed so quickly.”
With about seven minutes left in the first half, Independence’s Samantha Swinson used her powerful right leg to deliver a shot from about 40 yards out. It was a low-percentage shot, but Swinson was on target, and Weddington goalkeeper Madison Motto was forced to make a save.
But Motto fumbled the catch and had to reach behind her right shoulder to grab the ball.
Many Independence fans thought the Weddington goalkeeper caught the ball behind the goal line.
“But the official on the play said the keeper was 2 feet off (ahead of) the (goal) line,” Shimko said.
So about three minutes later, Weddington’s Karly Connell had a free kick from near midfield. She blasted a shot into an area crowded with Independence defenders. But somehow, the ball landed on the foot of Maria Manousos, who lofted a shot over the right shoulder of Patriots’ goalkeeper Caroline Wehr.
That was enough for the 17th-seeded Warriors (12-6-3), who knocked off top-seeded Cuthbertson last Thursday, to end the dream season for ninth-seeded Independence (18-2-1).
The Patriots concluded what is thought to have been the best season in school history, winning the Southwestern 4A Conference championship.
“You’ve got to give Weddington credit,” Shimko said. “They have two outstanding players up front (Manousos and Emily Floyd) and then dropped five players back. Those defenders did a really good job against us.”
In the closing minutes of the match, the Patriots threatened several times and appeared to be wearing down the Weddington defense. Independence’s final shot, with 10 seconds left, sailed over the Warriors’ goal.
Light rain was falling when the match started, but the rain picked up in intensity at halftime. In the final 10 minutes, the teams were playing in a downpour, with several large puddles forming on Independence’s natural grass field.
Weddington advances to the 4A quarterfinals and will play Thursday at the winner of Tuesday’s Myers Park-Page match.
3A playoffs
Top-seeded Lake Norman Charter (22-1) continued its demolition of playoff opposition, routing Enka 9-0. The match ended just nine minutes into the second half, when the Knights pulled ahead by nine goals, and the mercy rule went into effect.
As has become typical, Lake Norman Charter struck early. The Knights scored twice in the opening seven minutes, on goals by senior Haven Stanley and junior Kayla Patel. Riley Cook assisted on each goal. Eliza Rich made it 3-0 in the 13th minute, then assisted on a Stanley goal a minute later.
Stanley finished with three goals, and Patel and Cook each got a pair.
The Knights’ quarterfinal match will be at home Thursday, against the winner of Tuesday’s Asheboro-East Lincoln match.
2A playoffs
Community School of Davidson broke open a tight match with four second-half goals and blanked visiting West Stokes 5-0 in a third-round battle.
Alexis Rowles made six saves in earning the shutout for the Spartans (17-6), who are seeded third in the 2A West. West Stokes, the sixth seed, finished 16-4-2.
1A playoffs
No. 1-seeded Union Academy kept its undefeated season alive, winning its 21st game by a 3-0 count over eighth seed Corvian Community.
Katy Cunningham led the Cardinals, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Cunningham has 27 goals and 13 assists in her team’s 21 matches this season. Heidi Aguilar got the other Union Academy goals, and Nina Fraticelli and Shania Coppin added assists.
McKayla Ashfield made one save in goal, earning the shutout.
Union Academy will be home Thursday in a quarterfinal match, facing the winner of Tuesday’s South Stokes-Thomas Jefferson Academy match.
Several postponements
Heavy rain and the threat of severe thunderstorms forced officials to postpone several matches.
That included the 4A matches between Marvin Ridge and host Ardrey Kell, and Myers Park and host Page. Those matches have been rescheduled for Tuesday night.
Other matches victimized by the weather included Asheboro at East Lincoln and Atkins at South Point in 3A; Pine Lake Prep at East Gaston in 2A; and Highlands at Christ the King in 1A.
