HPCA edges Ledford late in close softball battle
WALLBURG – High Point Christian found itself in a tough spot. But it came through with clutch plays to win the game.
The Cougars, trailing by a run and down to their last out, scored three runs in the top of the seventh to surge past Ledford 7-5 in a meeting of two of the area’s top softball programs Monday night at Ledford.
“It was awesome – it really was,” said HPCA coach Lin Hayworth, a former Ledford assistant coach. “This place is special to me too, because I worked here and helped coach (Charlie) Brown. He was really good to me, and I learned a lot from him like I did from Mike (North Davidson’s Mike Lambros).
“In a way, we just sort of battled through. Whatever happens happens and you’ve got to figure it out. And they did – they figured it out. This group scratches and claws, and they don’t give up. We talk about not giving up, not giving in – and they didn’t.”
Blakely Bowman and Lila Allred, who doubled, each had two hits for the Cougars (2-0), last year’s NCISAA 3A state champions. Lexi Hall, Maci Burkhart and Lauren Sexton – who doubled in the game-winning runs – each had a hit and two RBIs.
“It felt great,” said Hall, a senior pitcher/infielder. “We’re a really good unit and we work really well. We really pulled through in those clutch situations. It was great. I love being in those do-or-die situations. It’s amazing. That’s how a team’s supposed to run – as a unit. We’re supposed to be working together and we’ll always pull for each other.”
Laci Jarrell reached on an error to lead off the seventh, then moved to second on a pitch to the backstop. After a pair of outs, the Cougars were still no closer. But Hall laced a hard grounder through the middle to score Jarrell and tied the score.
Hall then stole second and advanced to third as the ball reached the outfield, and behind her Bowman walked and took second. Sexton, facing a new pitcher, drove a 2-0 pitch to center to give HPCA back the lead after the Panthers had rallied in the sixth.
“We had a little talk and my assistant coach, Todd Smith, said, ‘She’s going to bang it,’” Hayworth said. “And he was right. … We talk about how there’s always going to be adversity – not everything’s going to go right. Even though momentum changed a lot, we kept our heads about us. The kids played hard and they played together.”
Hall picked up the win in late relief, striking out three in two innings for the Cougars. Grace Henry took the hard-fought loss in middle relief for Ledford – perennially a 20-win team in NCHSAA play for much of the last decade.
Ava Francis had a double and a solo home run for the Panthers (1-1), who held a slim lead much of the game until HPCA scored four straight over the fifth and sixth innings. Ivye Francis added a two-run home run to key a four-run outburst in the sixth.
Leah Leonard also had two hits, including a double, while Henry had a hit and an RBI for Ledford, which had a runner on in the seventh and brought the tying run to the plate with one out but just couldn’t answer.
“I’m really proud of the way we came back in the sixth inning,” said Panthers coach Jonathan Evans, in his first season after moving over from Wheatmore. “We competed. We didn’t have a lot of offensive momentum, and we found some in that inning. So, I’m really proud of how we fought back. Just an inch or two away from probably winning that game.
“I thought we hit balls hard for the most part all night. They just found people. It’s always a tough decision to move runners and to bunt and things like that when you’ve got girls who are hitting balls right at people. So, we didn’t play our best offensive game but I don’t think it was a poor effort either.”
Te Cougars will host West Rowan today at 4:30 p.m. at Wallburg Baptist Church, while Ledford will welcome county rival East Davidson on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
mlindsay@hpenews.com | @HPEmichael
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN 7, LEDFORD 5
HPCA 000 031 3 – 7 9 1
LHS 100 004 0 – 5 8 3
WP – Hall (2IP, 3K, 2BB, 2H, 0R); LP – Henry (2.1IP, 1K, 1BB, 3H, 4R)
Leading hitters: HPCA – Burkhart (1-4, 2RBI), Hall (1-3, SF, 2RBI), Bowman (2-3), Sexton (1-4, 2B, 2RBI), L. Allred (2-3, 2B); LHS – I. Francis (1-4, HR, 2RBI), Leonard (2-4, 2B), A. Francis (2-4, 2B, HR, RBI), Henry (1-3, RBI)
WALLBURG – High Point Christian found itself in a tough spot. But it came through with clutch plays to win the game.
The Cougars, trailing by a run and down to their last out, scored three runs in the top of the seventh to surge past Ledford 7-5 in a meeting of two of the area’s top softball programs Monday night at Ledford.
“It was awesome – it really was,” said HPCA coach Lin Hayworth, a former Ledford assistant coach. “This place is special to me too, because I worked here and helped coach (Charlie) Brown. He was really good to me, and I learned a lot from him like I did from Mike (North Davidson’s Mike Lambros).
“In a way, we just sort of battled through. Whatever happens happens and you’ve got to figure it out. And they did – they figured it out. This group scratches and claws, and they don’t give up. We talk about not giving up, not giving in – and they didn’t.”
Blakely Bowman and Lila Allred, who doubled, each had two hits for the Cougars (2-0), last year’s NCISAA 3A state champions. Lexi Hall, Maci Burkhart and Lauren Sexton – who doubled in the game-winning runs – each had a hit and two RBIs.
“It felt great,” said Hall, a senior pitcher/infielder. “We’re a really good unit and we work really well. We really pulled through in those clutch situations. It was great. I love being in those do-or-die situations. It’s amazing. That’s how a team’s supposed to run – as a unit. We’re supposed to be working together and we’ll always pull for each other.”
Laci Jarrell reached on an error to lead off the seventh, then moved to second on a pitch to the backstop. After a pair of outs, the Cougars were still no closer. But Hall laced a hard grounder through the middle to score Jarrell and tied the score.
Hall then stole second and advanced to third as the ball reached the outfield, and behind her Bowman walked and took second. Sexton, facing a new pitcher, drove a 2-0 pitch to center to give HPCA back the lead after the Panthers had rallied in the sixth.
“We had a little talk and my assistant coach, Todd Smith, said, ‘She’s going to bang it,’” Hayworth said. “And he was right. … We talk about how there’s always going to be adversity – not everything’s going to go right. Even though momentum changed a lot, we kept our heads about us. The kids played hard and they played together.”
Hall picked up the win in late relief, striking out three in two innings for the Cougars. Grace Henry took the hard-fought loss in middle relief for Ledford – perennially a 20-win team in NCHSAA play for much of the last decade.
Ava Francis had a double and a solo home run for the Panthers (1-1), who held a slim lead much of the game until HPCA scored four straight over the fifth and sixth innings. Ivye Francis added a two-run home run to key a four-run outburst in the sixth.
Leah Leonard also had two hits, including a double, while Henry had a hit and an RBI for Ledford, which had a runner on in the seventh and brought the tying run to the plate with one out but just couldn’t answer.
“I’m really proud of the way we came back in the sixth inning,” said Panthers coach Jonathan Evans, in his first season after moving over from Wheatmore. “We competed. We didn’t have a lot of offensive momentum, and we found some in that inning. So, I’m really proud of how we fought back. Just an inch or two away from probably winning that game.
“I thought we hit balls hard for the most part all night. They just found people. It’s always a tough decision to move runners and to bunt and things like that when you’ve got girls who are hitting balls right at people. So, we didn’t play our best offensive game but I don’t think it was a poor effort either.”
Te Cougars will host West Rowan today at 4:30 p.m. at Wallburg Baptist Church, while Ledford will welcome county rival East Davidson on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
mlindsay@hpenews.com | @HPEmichael
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN 7, LEDFORD 5
HPCA 000 031 3 – 7 9 1
LHS 100 004 0 – 5 8 3
WP – Hall (2IP, 3K, 2BB, 2H, 0R); LP – Henry (2.1IP, 1K, 1BB, 3H, 4R)
Leading hitters: HPCA – Burkhart (1-4, 2RBI), Hall (1-3, SF, 2RBI), Bowman (2-3), Sexton (1-4, 2B, 2RBI), L. Allred (2-3, 2B); LHS – I. Francis (1-4, HR, 2RBI), Leonard (2-4, 2B), A. Francis (2-4, 2B, HR, RBI), Henry (1-3, RBI)
