RESILIENT CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN TAKES NCISAA SOFTBALL CROWN
Kevin Hinde knew his Charlotte Christian girls’ softball team was emotionally deflated.
The Knights had just dropped an 8-7 decision to Cannon School on Saturday in the second game of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association’s 4A girls’ softball championship series.
“Usually, we come back and win close games,” Hinde says. “But Cannon School gave us a good punch there.”
So he wasn’t sure what to expected when Game 3 began, about a half-hour after the Game 2 loss.
“We came out firing on all cylinders,” he says.
The Knights scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back, winning 13-3 and capturing the school’s first softball championship.
They did it with a roster containing no seniors, and with four eighth-graders in the starting lineup.
“I thought that if we could score some runs in the first inning, we might set the tone for the game,” Hinde says.
In Game 2, Cannon School (17-3) rallied from a 7-6 deficit and scored the tying and winning runs in the top of the sixth inning. Charlotte Christian (17-2) had two runners in scoring position in the seventh but couldn’t tie the game.
Game 3 was a different story.
Wynne Gore held Cannon School to four hits.
“I don’t know where she found it, given what happened in the previous game, but she was great,” Hinde says. “It was one of her best games of the season.”
Gore also did damage at the plate, hitting .750 in the series with a home run, six runs scored, and seven RBI. Anna Hinde hit .636 and scored seven runs. Kayleigh Prather drove in five runs and batted .500. Hinde and Prather are among the eighth-graders.
The Knights set a bundle of school records in their championship season. Among them: Mary Caroline Eaton’s five triples, 10 homers, and 49 RBI; Gore’s 17 pitching victories; and the team total of 222 runs.
“And we had several games canceled because we had a COVID-19 quarantine for two weeks during the season,” Hinde says.
Charlotte Christian and Cannon School dominated the softball scene this season. Their only losses were to each other.
Kevin Hinde knew his Charlotte Christian girls’ softball team was emotionally deflated.
The Knights had just dropped an 8-7 decision to Cannon School on Saturday in the second game of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association’s 4A girls’ softball championship series.
“Usually, we come back and win close games,” Hinde says. “But Cannon School gave us a good punch there.”
So he wasn’t sure what to expected when Game 3 began, about a half-hour after the Game 2 loss.
“We came out firing on all cylinders,” he says.
The Knights scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back, winning 13-3 and capturing the school’s first softball championship.
They did it with a roster containing no seniors, and with four eighth-graders in the starting lineup.
“I thought that if we could score some runs in the first inning, we might set the tone for the game,” Hinde says.
In Game 2, Cannon School (17-3) rallied from a 7-6 deficit and scored the tying and winning runs in the top of the sixth inning. Charlotte Christian (17-2) had two runners in scoring position in the seventh but couldn’t tie the game.
Game 3 was a different story.
Wynne Gore held Cannon School to four hits.
“I don’t know where she found it, given what happened in the previous game, but she was great,” Hinde says. “It was one of her best games of the season.”
Gore also did damage at the plate, hitting .750 in the series with a home run, six runs scored, and seven RBI. Anna Hinde hit .636 and scored seven runs. Kayleigh Prather drove in five runs and batted .500. Hinde and Prather are among the eighth-graders.
The Knights set a bundle of school records in their championship season. Among them: Mary Caroline Eaton’s five triples, 10 homers, and 49 RBI; Gore’s 17 pitching victories; and the team total of 222 runs.
“And we had several games canceled because we had a COVID-19 quarantine for two weeks during the season,” Hinde says.
Charlotte Christian and Cannon School dominated the softball scene this season. Their only losses were to each other.
