WELDON – Sophomore Jenna Brice pitched a 2-hit shutout and struck out 9 batters, and her East Bladen offensive mates piled up 15 runs as the Lady Eagles rolled to a 15-0 victory over Weldon in the opening round of the NCHSAA Class 1A softball playoffs.
Coach Alan West’s Lady Eagles, the No. 21 seed, raised their record to 9-10 and will play at No. 5 seed Perquimans, which defeated East Wake Academy 15-0. Weldon finished the season with a 13-2 record.
Brice only walked 1 batter, and the Lady Eagles played errorless defense and limited the Lady Chargers to only 3 baserunners. By contrast the Lady Chargers committed 10 errors and issued 7 walks.
Junior catcher Martha Simmons batted 4-for-5 with a double, 4 runs batted in and 4 runs scored. Sophomore Niyah Wooten walloped 2 home runs and a triple, drove in 4 runs and scored 3. Sophomore Gracey Clark doubled and had 1 RBI.
Brice and freshmen Tatum Allen and Jamiee Perkins had 1 RBI each. Freshman Nadya Colon scored 3 runs, junior Mollie Tolar scored 2 runs, and sophomore Cabria Baldwin, Perkins, and freshman Taylor Dowless all scored 1 run each.
Simmons reached base on an error, and Tolar walked to start the game. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, then Simmons raced home on a passed ball. Brice walked, and Clark reached on a fielder’s choice. Allen lifted a sacrifice fly to left field that plated Tolar. Baldwin walked, and Perkins was hit by a pitch that forced home Colon, the courtesy runner for Brice, and put East up 3-0.
Simmons smacked a single to right to begin the 2nd inning, stole 2nd base then sprinted home on a 2-base throwing error. Wooten drilled a triple to left field and scored as Brice reached base on an error to push the lead to 5-0.
Perkins reached base on an error to start the 3rd inning, and Dowless sacrificed her to 2nd base. Simmons scorched a single to right that scored Perkins. Wooten crushed an inside-the-park home run to center field that scored Simmons ahead of her. Brice walked and courtesy runner Colon stole 2nd base. Clark knocked her in with a double to left that padded the lead to 9-0.
Baldwin led off the 4th inning with hard grounder that was misplayed into a 2-base error then moved up on a passed ball. Dowless walked then stole 2nd base. Simmons scalded a double to center that plated Baldwin and Dowless. Simmons scooted home on an error, and Tolar walked, before Wooten pounded another inside-the-park home run to center field that also scored Tolar and grew the lead to 14-0.
Colon was hit by a pitch to begin the 5th inning, moved up on a passed ball and darted home when Simmons dumped a single into right field for a 15-0 lead.
Weldon senior Tyasia Stansbury struck out 10 batters in her 5 innings in the circle. Only 5 of the East Bladen runs against her were earned. Seniors Briana Moody and Kennedi Silver connected for 1 hit each for the Lady Chargers.
East Bladen 324 51 —15- 8- 0
Weldon 000 00 — 0- 2-10
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