ELIZABETHTOWN – Junior Sophia Singletary pitched a one-hit shutout and struck out 4 Thursday to lead West Bladen to their tenth straight win 3-0 on Senior Night at rival East Bladen.
Freshman Ja’Tyra Moore-Peterson beat out an infield hit to the right side with one out in the sixth inning for the only Lady Eagle hit. Freshman Anna Kate White drew a 2-out walk in the second inning to account for the only other East Bladen base-runner.
Singletary, now 10-7, had thrown a no-hitter in the earlier meeting between the two teams– a 15-0 Lady Knight victory at West, but East Bladen senior Miller Heustess limited the Lady Knights to 3 runs – 2 earned – on 7 hits.
“You’ve got to tip your hat to Miller and East Bladen,” said West Bladen Coach Joey Autry. “She did a great job of keeping us under the ball. What did we have – 12 pop-ups.”
Junior Laikyn Pait raked a single to left field then stole second base to start the Lady Knight second inning. Junior Jenna Dove plunked an infield hit right behind the second base bag then stole second base.
Junior Kathryn Schultz’ fielder’s choice drove in Pait, and Dove scored as freshman Conner Brisson’s fly ball was dropped.
The scored remained 2-0 until Pait ripped a double over the third base bag to lead off the West sixth. Pait moved up on Singletary’s ground-out and scored on Dove’s fielder’s choice for a 3-0 lead.
Pait batted 2-3 with a double and 2 runs scored to lead the Lady Knight hitters. Dove finished 2-3 at the plate with a run scored and a run batted in.
Freshman Carley Dawson turned in a 2-4 day at the plate, and junior Logan Autry beat out an infield hit. Schultz drove in a run.
“Sophia did a great job of getting ahead of the hitters, and we played really great defense,” continued Coach Autry. “Both teams made plays. We got just enough hits to pull it out.”
East Bladen Coach Patty Evers was pleased with her team’s improvement saying, “Everybody made plays. The outfield made plays. We consistently put the bat on the ball. To play like this against a really good team in their last game really means a lot to Lauren (Merritt) and Miller.”
“Miller is a great example of what a student-athlete should be,” added Coach Evers. “She has led this team all season and has helped make the other girls better. She has had a great four years for us.”
East Bladen concluded its’ season with a 5-11 record. Seniors Lauren Merritt and Miller Heustess were honored in pre-game ceremonies.
West Bladen will travel to Midway Friday night for their season finale. The Lady Knights improved to 11-2 in Four County Conference play and 14-7 overall. West Bladen needs a win over Midway, and a Pender victory over Heide Trask to claim a share of the league title.
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