Post 21 junior softball squad sweeps McDowell

After splitting each of its first four doubleheaders of the season, the Burke County Post 21 American Legion Lady junior softball team earned its first sweep by defeating visiting McDowell Post 56 twice on Monday at Patton High School.

Both contests were one-run affairs, with Post 21 (6-4) collecting an 8-7 victory in the opener before winning by a 3-2 score in the nightcap. Post 21 has now won three consecutive games by one run and four of its past five games overall.

Trailing 7-4 entering the bottom of the fifth inning in Monday’s opener, Post 21 scored four times in its final at-bat thanks to a single from Harper Best that scored Finley Duvall, a double from Emma Fish that plated Best, a double from Kelly Scales that scored Fish, and a single from Whitley Strange that plated Scales to lift the hosts to a walk-off win.

Post 21 also got a two-run double from Desirae Smith in the opening frame before tallying two runs in the third, the first on a wild pitch that scored SophiAnn Smith and the second on an RBI single from Best.

Janiyah Benjamin led Post 21 with three hits, all singles, to go with two runs scored and a stolen base. SophiAnn Smith (double, single, two runs) and Best added two hits apiece.

The rest of Post 21’s 13-hit output included a double from Paige Hennessee and a single from Sophia Davis, while Duvall had the team’s remaining stolen base.

Best was Post 21’s most effective pitcher, earning the win after tossing 1 2/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief with four strikeouts and no walks.

In Game 2, Post 21 emerged victorious despite managing just three hits, with Benjamin recording an RBI single in the first and a two-run single in the third.

Ava Hensley doubled for Post 21’s other hit, also scoring two runs to go with one run scored from Serenity Waycaster. In addition, Strange (5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K) tossed a complete game.

The Post 21 junior squad next travels to Hickory Post 48 on June 24 for a twin bill that will be played at Lenoir-Rhyne University.

Sr. legion on 4-game losing streak

The Post 21 senior legion softball team (1-4) lost both games of a home doubleheader versus Wilkes County Post 31 on Tuesday at Patton, falling by a 3-0 final in the opener before dropping the nightcap by a 10-2 score to extend its losing streak to four games.

Post 21’s lone hits in Game 1 came on a triple from Maria Medrano and a single from Marleigh Carswell, the latter of whom also pitched all five innings, surrendering three runs on five hits with three strikeouts and no walks.

Kyndal Morrison and Fish added stolen bases for Post 21.

Post 21 then totaled six hits in the next contest, which was tied at 2-all before Wilkes scored eight runs in the top of the fifth.

Morrison had two singles and a stolen base, Maddy Hudson and Kayden Maines each had a single and an RBI, and Carswell doubled and scored a run, with Medrano (single, run, SB) recording the remaining hit for the hosts.

Post 21 returns to action on June 23 when it hosts two games against Gaston Post 144.