Bladen County 12, Onslow County 4
WILLIAMSTON – A steady rain and sloppy field conditions did not keep the Bladen County 10U All-Stars from a big 12-4 opening round win in the State-Wide Activities Committee (SWAC) State Softball Tournament Friday night.
Bladen County used timely hits and aggressive base running to put Onslow County to sleep after a late start time due to bad weather.
Onslow pushed one run across against starting pitcher Rylee Chadwick in the first on a couple of walks and a passed ball.
Bladen County bounced back in the bottom of the first and quickly put up six runs. Addie Bowen drew a walk to lead off the game. Chadwick then slapped a double to left-centerfield and took third when the Onslow shortstop tried to throw Bowen out at home.
Chadwick scored when a throw got away from the thirdbaseman. Emma Turbeville and Lainey Hughes drew walks, and Turbeville stole second and third base then darted home on a passed ball as Hughes scooted around to third.
Lena Trinidad’s grounder to second base drove in Hughes, and Molly Evans and Gracie Faircloth also drew walks. Evans stole second and third then swiped home as well on the catcher’s throw back to the pitcher, before Madison Taylor knocked in Faircloth with a hard single to rightfield.
Chadwick struck out three again in the second but Onslow pushed across 2 runs in the inning on walks and a couple of passed balls.
Bladen Co. put the bat on the ball in the second but only managed one run to take a 7-3 lead. Chadwick was hit by a pitch and scored the run on a passed ball.
Bowen started the third inning giving up a leadoff walk, but the next batter grounded to Zoe Smith and she wheeled around and fired to shortstop Hughes to get the lead runner. Laci Storms was there to back up the throw to Hughes.
Bowen was relieved by Chadwick later in the inning, and Chadwick struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
Molly Evans smoked a shot off the pitcher’s leg and beat the throw for an infield single in the bottom of the third. Faircloth and Taylor drew walks, and Evans dashed home on a passed ball.
Chadwick was intentionally walked to load the bases, but Turbeville squeaked a single through the defense that scored Faircloth and Taylor. McKenzie Singletary hammered a single up the middle as time expired to give Bladen County the 12-4 win.
Chadwick and Bowen combined to pitch a no-hitter, and Chadwick struck out 11 batters in 3 innings to pick up the win.
Chadwick doubled in a run and scored 3 times. Turbeville cracked a 2-run single and scored twice. Singletary belted a 2-run single.
Taylor smacked a run-scoring single and scored a run. Evans added a single and scored twice. Faircloth scored two runs, and Hughes and Bowen scored one run each. Trinidad drove in a run.
Bladen County advanced to a 4 p.m. Saturday game against Lee County.
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