Post 21 softball squad ends regular season with road split

The Burke County Post 21 American Legion Lady softball team ended the regular season with a bang on Tuesday night at West Wilkes High School, tying their season-high effort for runs in a wild 13-10 victory over Wilkes County Post 31 in game two of the teams’ doubleheader.

Post 21 (4-7) had started the evening with a narrow 4-3, walk-off loss as Wilkes plated a run in the bottom of the fourth inning before both tying the game and winning it with a pair of fifth-inning runs.

Post 21 starting pitcher Marleigh Carswell was solid despite taking the loss in the opener as she allowed just five hits, two walks, and one earned run with a pair of strikeouts across her four innings from the circle.

But three fielding errors (compared to the hosts’ two) proved costly for the guests, who were also outhit by a 5-4 margin.

Outfielder Emma Fish (double, run) had Post 21’s lone extra-base hit in game one, and shortstop Kyndal Morrison (SB) led the squad with two singles, while other offensive standouts included Carswell (walk, run), Whitley Strange (walk, run), Kaiden Maines (RBI), and Maria Medrano (single).

Fish and Maines then exploded in the nightcap, both going for three hits including a home run and a double as Post 21 surged to a 13-4 lead before hanging on in the fifth to top Wilkes for the first time in four tries this summer.

Maines finished with five RBIs, while Fish drove in four runs and scored twice, while Morrison added three hits, two runs, and another stolen base.

Other Post 21 hitting leaders in the win were Strange (two hits, two runs, SB), Maddy Hudson (double, walk, two RBIs, two runs, SB), Medrano (hit, walk, two runs), Carswell (walk, run), Jaiden Bame (hit, RBI), and Lydia Patton (walk)

Just a rising eighth grader at Liberty Middle School, Strange scattered 12 hits and struck out one over 4 2/3 innings to collect the win before Carswell earned the final out on a flyout to Strange — who had moved over to right field — for the save.

The N.C. American Legion Lady Fastpitch playoffs start next week, with early-round games hosted by higher seeds. Pairings are set to be announced this weekend.

This year’s senior and junior state tournaments will then be hosted by the town of Sawmills in Caldwell County starting July 20. Baird Park will serve as the primary game site, with either Veterans Park or South Caldwell High School most likely serving as a secondary site.

It is unclear if the Post 21 senior squad will enter the playoffs.

Jr. legion drops slugfest in finale

The host Post 21 junior legion squad (7-7) plated a half-dozen runs in the bottom of the first inning on Monday at Patton High School but watched visiting Shelby Post 82 do the same in the next half-inning to regain an 8-6 lead en route to a 16-10 win.

The teams were set to play a doubleheader before rain postponed the action and prompted the teams to a single, five-inning affair.

Sophia Davis drew a leadoff walk for Post 21 in the first before a Janiyah Benjamin one-out double chased her across the plate to bring the hosts’ deficit to 2-1.

Kelly Scales then walked, Strange singled in Benjamin with the tying run, Lily Thompson walked, and Bame reached on an error as Scales scored the go-ahead run. Serenity Waycaster and Davis drew bases-loaded walks to bring in additional runs before the frame was over, and Sophiann Smith (fielder’s choice) also scored on a passed ball.

But Post 21 didn’t score again until the fourth, by which time it had fallen behind, 14-6. Waycaster’s two-run double provided the highlight of a four-run frame, but Shelby tacked on two more runs (scoring in each inning of the contest) and held Post 21 at bay in the bottom of the fifth to end things.

Benjamin doubled twice and walked twice to grow her hitting streak to nine games, while Strange was a perfect 3 for 3 at the plate, scoring once.

Thompson and Smith each hit safely and scored twice, while Davis (RBI) and Scales each walked twice and scored a run. Fish walked and stole a base, Waycaster also scored a run, and Strange (3 2/3 IP, 9 H, 4 K) and Benjamin (1 1/3 IP, 2 H, K) split time in the circle.