Wednesday’s HS Rewind: East Forsyth pitcher ends Marvin Ridge’s softball season

Kierston Deal overpowered Marvin Ridge again Wednesday night, ending the Mavericks’ softball season in the 4A Western Regional finals.

Deal pitched her second shutout in as many nights, carrying East Forsyth to an 8-0 victory and a two-game sweep in the best-of-three series.

The Eagles (26-1) advance to next week’s best-of-three 4A state championship series, against the winner of the East Regional series between D.H. Conley and Fuquay-Varina.

East Forsyth reached the state finals last season, falling in three games to Hoggard.

For Marvin Ridge (20-4), it was the second time in three years that the Mavericks reached the regional finals and lost. The Mavericks fell to Central Cabarrus in 2019, when the school was in the 3A classification.

Deal, an Oklahoma commit, pitched shutout ball against Marvin Ridge over 15 innings. She struck out 17 in a 1-0, eight-inning victory Tuesday and added 12 strikeouts Tuesday.

This time, the Eagles scored plenty of runs.

They built a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single by Kaitlyn King and a two-run double by Gracie Flynn. The lead reached 4-0 in the fourth inning, when Deal doubled, and pinch-runner Hannah Niten scored on a sacrifice.

When Madison Jones added a two-run single in the fifth for a 6-0 lead, the Eagles were headed to the state finals.

Marvin Ridge loses five seniors but returns standout pitcher Anna Phifer, leading hitter Anna McGowan, and several other players off talented freshmen and sophomore classes.

3A baseball

South Rowan 11, East Lincoln 1: The host Raiders, top seeded in the 3A West, opened the best-of-three series with a one-sided victory. The game was halted after six innings by the 10-run rule.

Haiden Leffew worked all six innings for South Rowan (27-4), striking out 10. Ty Hubbard and J.D. Jones each had three hits, and Jones drove in four runs. A two-run, bases-loaded single in the sixth by Jones ended the game.

East Lincoln (20-7) will host Game 2 of the series, set for Thursday (weather permitting) in Denver.

2A baseball

Randleman 12, Community School of Davidson 0: The top-seeded Tigers (30-1) opened the best-of-three 2A West Regional finals in style, in a game halted after five innings by the 10-run rule.

Randleman’s Brooks Brannon, a UNC commit, hit two home runs in the game. The second blast was his 20th of the season, equaling the state single-season home run record held by his father, Paul, who hit 20 homers in 1989 at Kings Mountain. Brannon has a state-record 87 RBI this season.

Game 2 in the series is set for Thursday (weather permitting) at Moor Field in Mooresville.

2A softball

West Stanly 13, West Stokes 3: The defending state champions are headed back to the North Carolina 2A finals again, completing a two-game sweep of West Stokes. The Colts (27-4) scored twice in the top of the first inning and broke it open with five runs in the second. Aliyah Rush had three RBI. The game was halted after six innings by the 10-run rule.

1A softball

South Stanly 8, South Stokes 5: West Stanly isn’t the only Stanly County team headed back to the state finals. South Stanly rallied with eight runs in the final two innings, completing a 2-0 sweep of South Stokes for the 1A West Regional title.

The Bulls (27-3) trailed 4-0 after five innings but began their rally with Mattie Poulos’ two-run homer in the sixth. South Stanly added another run and came to bat in the seventh, trailing 5-3.

The Bulls scored on a bases-loaded walk, then tied the game with a sacrifice. Cassidy Smith then blasted a three-run home run for the winning runs.

South Stanly lost the 1A state finals last season in three games to Camden County.

2A girls’ soccer

Wilkes Central 7, Pine Lake Prep 1: Top-seeded Wilkes Central (21-3) built a 3-0 halftime lead and cruised to victory in the state quarterfinals. Maddyson Kerley scored on an assist from Isabella Massimini for Pine Lake Prep (15-6-1).

Wilkes Central will face the winner of Thursday’s Community School of Davidson-Wheatmore match in next Tuesday’s West Regional finals.

Tuesday’s Rewind: Diel stops Marvin Ridge

The Marvin Ridge softball team has less than 24 hours to solve a problem that few other teams have been able to solve this season – getting hits off East Forsyth pitcher Kierston Deal.

Oh, the Mavericks got a few hits Tuesday night off Deal, the East Forsyth pitching standout who plans to play next season at the University of Oklahoma.

But when Marvin Ridge needed a hit to bring home a runner, Deal usually ended the threat with a strikeout.

She fanned 17 and drove in the game’s only run as the visiting Eagles edged Marvin Ridge 1-0 in eight innings, taking Game 1 of the 4A West Regional best-of-three series.

Game 2 is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at East Forsyth.

To even the series, Marvin Ridge will have to solve the Kierston Deal Puzzle.

“We got some hits, but we just couldn’t string anything together,” Marvin Ridge coach Linda McGowan said.

The Mavericks (20-3) got four hits, including a two-out third-inning triple by Katriel Williams. But Deal recovered and struck out Cam Pfister, who had doubled in the first inning, to end the threat.

In the bottom of the sixth, Marvin Ridge had a runner at second with one out. But Deal fanned cleanup hitter Anna McGowan and then struck out Lexi Kirby.

The Mavericks’ 3-4-5 hitters went 1-for-10 and struck out eight times.

“We’ll look at what we did and try to determine whether it’s timing, or mechanics, or something else,” Linda McGowan said.

The loss overshadowed a strong effort by Mavericks’ freshman pitcher Anna Phifer. She struck out only four, but she kept the Eagles (25-1) off the scoreboard in the regulation seven innings.

East Forsyth had runners at second and third in the first inning, but Phifer got out of the jam by forcing Sophie Lecnar to pop out to first.

Deal took matters into her own hands in the eighth inning.

With a runner on second and two out, she laced a single to right field, scoring Grace Flynn from second base.

“It was the kind of game I expected,” McGowan said. “We scratched and clawed, and it was close. We just needed a clutch hit and didn’t get it.”

Baseball

Cherryville 9, Union Academy 1: The host Ironmen rolled to victory in Game 1 of the 1A West Regional finals. Cherryville scored four times in the bottom of the first and added four in the second for an 8-1 lead.

Chase Miller smacked a three-run homer as part of the first-inning outburst. Starting pitcher Brayden Reynolds got the victory.

Game 2 is Thursday night at Union Academy.

Girls’ soccer

CLASS 4A

Page 1, Myers Park 0: The host Pirates scored off a corner kick in the second half, then shut down the Mustangs (13-4-3). It ended Myers Park’s bid to repeat as 4A state champion. Page will host Weddington in a quarterfinal match Thursday, weather permitting.

Hough 3, T.C. Roberson 1: The host Huskies rallied from a 1-0 deficit and advanced to a quarterfinal match at Ardrey Kell. Savannah Bishop, Ella Matthews and Elon Rutty-Andre scored for Hough (22-1-1).

Ardrey Kell 1, Marvin Ridge 0: The second-seeded Knights (23-1-1) got a goal from Grace Meyers, then relied on their defense for the victory. Marvin Ridge finished with a 19-4-2 record. Ardrey Kell will host Hough in the quarterfinals Thursday, weather permitting.

CLASS 3A

East Lincoln 3, Asheboro 0: Devin Poteat scored in the first half, and Grace Harpster added an insurance goal early in the second half. The Mustangs (18-3-3) advanced to a quarterfinal match Thursday at top-seeded Lake Norman Charter.

South Point 5, Atkins 0: Emme Lewandoski scored two goals and added an assist, as the second-seeded Raiders (22-0) advanced to a quarterfinal match at home Thursday against West Henderson. Jordan Villemagne scored two goals, and Grace Smith added a goal and two assists.

Monday’s Rewind: bad stretch ends Independence’s dream season

Weddington’s 1-0 upset victory over host Independence in a third-round 4A girls’ soccer match Monday night carried plenty of twists and turns.

But the outcome essentially was decided in a four-minute span of the first half.

During that time, Independence didn’t get a goal the Patriots thought they had … and then Weddington got a goal it might not have expected.

“It was crazy, how they got their goal just a few minutes after we almost scored,” Independence coach Andrew Shimko said. “Everything changed so quickly.”

With about seven minutes left in the first half, Independence’s Samantha Swinson used her powerful right leg to deliver a shot from about 40 yards out. It was a low-percentage shot, but Swinson was on target, and Weddington goalkeeper Madison Motto was forced to make a save.

But Motto fumbled the catch and had to reach behind her right shoulder to grab the ball.

Many Independence fans thought the Weddington goalkeeper caught the ball behind the goal line.

“But the official on the play said the keeper was 2 feet off (ahead of) the (goal) line,” Shimko said.

So about three minutes later, Weddington’s Karly Connell had a free kick from near midfield. She blasted a shot into an area crowded with Independence defenders. But somehow, the ball landed on the foot of Maria Manousos, who lofted a shot over the right shoulder of Patriots’ goalkeeper Caroline Wehr.

That was enough for the 17th-seeded Warriors (12-6-3), who knocked off top-seeded Cuthbertson last Thursday, to end the dream season for ninth-seeded Independence (18-2-1).

The Patriots concluded what is thought to have been the best season in school history, winning the Southwestern 4A Conference championship.

“You’ve got to give Weddington credit,” Shimko said. “They have two outstanding players up front (Manousos and Emily Floyd) and then dropped five players back. Those defenders did a really good job against us.”

In the closing minutes of the match, the Patriots threatened several times and appeared to be wearing down the Weddington defense. Independence’s final shot, with 10 seconds left, sailed over the Warriors’ goal.

Light rain was falling when the match started, but the rain picked up in intensity at halftime. In the final 10 minutes, the teams were playing in a downpour, with several large puddles forming on Independence’s natural grass field.

Weddington advances to the 4A quarterfinals and will play Thursday at the winner of Tuesday’s Myers Park-Page match.

3A playoffs

Top-seeded Lake Norman Charter (22-1) continued its demolition of playoff opposition, routing Enka 9-0. The match ended just nine minutes into the second half, when the Knights pulled ahead by nine goals, and the mercy rule went into effect.

As has become typical, Lake Norman Charter struck early. The Knights scored twice in the opening seven minutes, on goals by senior Haven Stanley and junior Kayla Patel. Riley Cook assisted on each goal. Eliza Rich made it 3-0 in the 13th minute, then assisted on a Stanley goal a minute later.

Stanley finished with three goals, and Patel and Cook each got a pair.

The Knights’ quarterfinal match will be at home Thursday, against the winner of Tuesday’s Asheboro-East Lincoln match.

2A playoffs

Community School of Davidson broke open a tight match with four second-half goals and blanked visiting West Stokes 5-0 in a third-round battle.

Alexis Rowles made six saves in earning the shutout for the Spartans (17-6), who are seeded third in the 2A West. West Stokes, the sixth seed, finished 16-4-2.

1A playoffs

No. 1-seeded Union Academy kept its undefeated season alive, winning its 21st game by a 3-0 count over eighth seed Corvian Community.

Katy Cunningham led the Cardinals, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Cunningham has 27 goals and 13 assists in her team’s 21 matches this season. Heidi Aguilar got the other Union Academy goals, and Nina Fraticelli and Shania Coppin added assists.

McKayla Ashfield made one save in goal, earning the shutout.

Union Academy will be home Thursday in a quarterfinal match, facing the winner of Tuesday’s South Stokes-Thomas Jefferson Academy match.

Several postponements

Heavy rain and the threat of severe thunderstorms forced officials to postpone several matches.

That included the 4A matches between Marvin Ridge and host Ardrey Kell, and Myers Park and host Page. Those matches have been rescheduled for Tuesday night.

Other matches victimized by the weather included Asheboro at East Lincoln and Atkins at South Point in 3A; Pine Lake Prep at East Gaston in 2A; and Highlands at Christ the King in 1A.

This story was originally published May 24, 2022 at 6:15 AM.