Mid-Carolina softball stuns defending state champions to earn first title appearance
Gray Collegiate made sure Amber Hughes couldn’t beat them with her bat, but the War Eagles didn’t have much of an answer with her pitching.
The Mid-Carolina senior struck out 15 against Gray in the 4-2 win Friday of the deciding game in the Class 2A Upper State championship at Reco Park.
Hughes also picked up the win in the first game as the Rebels earned their first trip to the state championship series. Mid-Carolina will play Chesterfield in the best-of-three championship series beginning Monday in Prosperity.
Game 2 is at Chesterfield on Wednesday. A third game, if necessary, will be next Friday at a neutral site.
“She dealt,” an emotional Mid-Carolina coach Joey Long said of Hughes. “She has been our best all year and with the game on the line I wanted her to have the ball and she did it.”
Hughes, who came in during the fifth inning of the first game, allowed two earned runs and struck out 23 in 10 innings of work Friday. She also homered in the first game to kick-start the Rebels’ comeback. Mid-Carolina, which trailed 4-2 after Hughes’ homer, scored three runs in the top of the sixth. Nora Cutler had a two-run single to tie it up at 4-4. Savannah Moore followed with an RBI single to make it 5-4.
In the second game, Hughes was intentionally walked in every at-bat, and Coker commit Sarah Bryant made the War Eagles pay. Bryant hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth to put the Rebels up 1-0.
After Hughes was walked to load the bases in the fifth, Bryant had a two-run single that got by the center fielder to clear the bases and make it 4-0.
“That’s what happens when you put someone on base. It makes you hurt,” Hughes said.
Gray answered with two in the bottom of the sixth as Maddox Long hit a solo homer and Madison Knapper had an RBI to get within 4-2.
The War Eagles, the defending Class 2A champs, had the tying run at the plate in the seventh, but Hughes got a strikeout to end it.
“They fought, they scratched, they battled,” Long said of his team. “We came in, had to beat Gray twice with an unbelievable team they had. I’m just ecstatic for our kids.”
Knapper had three hits to lead the War Eagles in the two games. Aspen Boulware had two hits in the second game.
Class 5A
Summerville 9, Chapin 2: The Green Wave scored in all but one inning to win the Lower State championship. Chapin finished the season at 22-7. Savannah Stockwell was 1-for-2 with an RBI for the Eagles.
Baseball
Class 3A
Hanahan 2-3, Brookland-Cayce 5-1: Brookland-Cayce forced a deciding game in the 3A Lower State championship but lost to the Hawks in the second game.
Mason Brady and Hunter Gomes had RBI hits in the third to put Hanahan up 3-1.
Jackson Thomas and BJ Etheridge each had two RBI for B-C.
This story was originally published May 20, 2023 at 1:00 AM.
