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Katie Hogue hit two home runs and Katelyn Crowe also homered and drove in three runs on Friday, pushing East Lincoln High past visiting Maiden 8-7 to knock the Blue Devils out of sole possession of first place in South Fork 2A softball.
Maiden, 10-2 in the league, fell back into a tie with North Lincoln, also 10-2, for first place just two days after a head-to-head one-run win over North Lincoln gave it the league lead.
East Lincoln is 7-5 in the conference and shares third place with West Lincoln with two conference games to go.
The Mustangs wiped out a 4-2 deficit with a five-run fourth inning and won despite being outhit 11-8.
Hannah Davis added a single and double and drove in a run for East Lincoln, which got a complete game from pitcher Emily Stolzenbach.
Morgan Bohemier took the loss for Maiden, led by a four-hit game by Grace Herman and two hits and three RBIs by Caitlyn Wray.
Maiden closes the conference schedule by facing Newton-Conover on Tuesday at 5 p.m. on the road and Lincolnton at Maiden on Friday at 6 p.m.
East Lincoln has a league game Tuesday at West Lincoln (6 p.m.) and is at home on Friday at 6 p.m. to play Newton-Conover.
Fred T. Foard 6, Hibriten 0
The Tigers extended their win streak to 16 games – they’re 16-1 overall and 11-0 in the Northwestern Foothills 2A – and won the league title with a victory in Lenoir.
Adison Yoder threw a four-hitter for Foard and Abby Settlemyre had two triples.
The Tigers gained a 2-0 lead in the first inning with two runs via wild pitches and led 3-0 after Settlemyre had a run-scoring triple in the third inning. Morgan Smith’s RBI hit later made it 4-0, and the Tigers scored two runs by getting into rundowns on the base paths.
Foard has locked up the league’s No. 1 state 2A playoff spot with one game left on the conference schedule.
The Tigers play a non-league game on Monday at 6 p.m. at St. Stephens, go to Alexander Central for a non-conference game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and close league play on Friday at 6 p.m. with Senior Night at home against Draughn (6 p.m.).
Hibriten — 7-3 in the league and in second place at one game up on Draughn and Bunker Hill – faces East Burke at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Hibriten.
Alexander Central 16, Freedom 0, 4 inn.
The host Cougars got a 4-for-4 game with four RBIs from leadoff hitter Lanie Goforth and two-hit pitching by Chesney Millsaps to win and stay in second place in the Northwestern 3A-4A.
Alexander Central (16-4, 10-2) had 19 hits, with Millsaps going 3-for-4, Ashley Speagle 3-for-3 and Kelsea Dejarnette, Mattie Starnes and Gracie Rhoney each adding two hits each. Seagle drove in four runs and Alexis Walter and Dejarnette each had two RBIs.
Jade Lipsey and Myra Twitty had hits for Freedom, 7-5 and in fourth place.
Millsaps walked one and struck out six.
The Cougars scored twice in the first inning and had an eight-run second inning to go up 10-0.
Alexander Central has two league games to go, at McDowell on Tuesday (6 p.m.) and at St. Stephens (6 p.m.) on Thursday. A win over McDowell would wrap up the league’s No. 1 state 3A playoff spot.
Freedom plays league-leading South Caldwell in Morganton on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and meets West Caldwell, also in Morganton, on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Mooresville 13, Alexander Central 3 (Thursday)
A seven-run fourth inning carried the visiting Blue Devils to a non-conference victory in Taylorsville, highlighted by Olivia Marshall’s two hits and three RBIs.
Mooresville outhit Alexander Central 14-8, with Taylor Cullen, Mariah Pearson, Ruthie Jackson, Jentri Meadows and Caitlyn Mann each adding two hits.
Jackson drove in three runs and Meadows drove in two.
The Cougars led 2-0 in the first inning but were behind 3-2 when Mooresville came to bat in the fourth inning. It was 10-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.
Seagle had three hits and Walter had two to lead the Cougars and Millsaps, the losing pitcher, drove in two runs.
Millsaps went six innings, giving up 14 hits, 13 runs (12 earned) with five walks and four strikeouts.
Kali Morton was the winning pitcher for the Blue Devils, pitching six innings. She gave up eight hits, three runs (all earned), walked one and struck out five.
West Caldwell 17, St. Stephens 0, 4 inn.
The Warriors had a 10-run first inning en route to a Northwestern 3A-4A victory.
Macey Pennell, Sophie Hainor, Hannah Triplett, and Katie Morgan each had one hit for St. Stephens, 2-10 in the league and in seventh place, and Lauren Moss took a loss after going four innings, allowing 13 hits and striking out four.
West Caldwell, 6-6 in the conference and in fifth place, led 15-0 after two innings.
St. Stephens is at home Monday at 6 p.m. for a non-league game against Fred T. Foard before playing at Watauga (6 p.m.) on Tuesday and at home against Alexander Central on Thursday (6 p.m.) in league games.
West Caldwell faces Hickory on Tuesday in Lenoir in a conference game, entertains Lincolnton in a non-league game on Wednesday at 5 p.m. and goes to Freedom on Thursday (6 p.m.) for a league game.
BASEBALL
St. Stephens 2, West Caldwell 1
St. Stephens scored the winning run in a Northwestern 3A-4A game on a squeeze bunt in the bottom of the seventh inning, moving into third place with a key win in the race for a state 3A playoff bid.
After Owen Vansickle walked to lead off the seventh inning, J.D. Everett singled down the third-base line to give the Indians (11-7, 7-5) runners at second and third base.
Logan Pope was intentionally walked, loading the bases with no outs. With one out, Josh Kidd bunted and pitcher Cy Smith fielded it and made a play at the plate. The ball was dropped and Vansickle scored the winning run.
Each team had six hits and made three errors.
West Caldwell (2-18, 1-11) dropped its 10th straight game after gaining a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Jordan Bowman started the game by walking and Cy Smith had a hit before Cody Bowman tried a sacrifice bunt that went for a hit. A groundout by Thomas Melton netted the Warriors a run.
The Indians trailed until the sixth inning when they used an error to get Pope on base, Kidd bunted for a single with one out and Nolan Walker bunted for a hit to load the bases. Chase Benfield scored with two outs during a run down on the bases.
Everett threw a complete game, allowing six hits, an earned run, walked two and striking out 11.
Smith, pitching in relief of Kidd, took the loss. He walked three and struck out two in one inning after Kidd worked 5 1/3 innings and allowed four hits, walking six and striking out four.
St. Stephens has the inside track at the conference’s No. 2 3A playoff bid, sitting a game up on Hickory (12-7, 6-6) and two ahead of Freedom (11-10, 5-7) with two league games to go.
The Indians have three games this week – a 6:30 p.m. conference game at Watauga on Tuesday, a non-league game on Wednesday (7 p.m.) at Maiden and a home league game against Alexander Central on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
West Caldwell is at home Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Hickory and at Freedom on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Alexander Central 12, Freedom 2, 6 inn.
Donavan Smith went 2-for-4, scored three runs and drove in three to spark the Cougars’ home victory in the Northwestern 3A-4A.
Alexander Central (16-5, 10-2), in second place, scored six runs in the fifth inning and three more in the seventh.
Nate Moretz, Josh Jacobs, Justin Cook, Jeremy Hubbard and Byron Younts each had two hits for the Cougars. Moretz and Younts each drove in two runs.
Zach Hammer threw a complete game, going six innings. He allowed five hits, two runs (both earned), walked two and struck out 11 for Alexander Central.
T.J. Twitty had two hits and Lyle Holland, Tyler Delay and Cody Thomas had one each for Freedom (11-10, 5-7, in fifth place).
The Patriots made four errors.
Holland took the loss after going 4 2/3 innings, giving up 11 hits, nine runs (eight earned) with one walk and three strikeouts.
The Cougars are one game back of league-leading South Caldwell with two conference games to go – at McDowell on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and at St. Stephens on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Freedom is at home Monday at 6 p.m. for a league game with South Caldwell, plays at West Caldwell in a conference game on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and battles Watauga on Friday at 4 p.m. in Morganton to close the league schedule.
East Burke 8, Patton 4, 8 inn.
Hunter Lewis threw a complete game, walking one and striking out 10 and allowed two earned runs, as the Cavs (9-11, 4-6) won a Northwestern Foothills 2A game on the road.
Greyson Williamson had two hits – including a three-run home run – and Ayden Lail added two hits and two RBIs and Grant Fulbright had two hits for East Burke, now tied for fifth place with West Iredell.
Patton dropped to 11-10, 5-6 with its third straight loss and is in fourth place, a half-game up on East Burke and West Iredell.
East Burke plays a non-league game at Chase on Monday at 6 p.m. before closing the league schedule at home against Bunker Hill on Tuesday (6 p.m.) and at Hibriten on Friday (6 p.m.).
Patton faces Enka at Patton on Monday at 6 p.m. in a non-league game, finishes its conference schedule on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at West Iredell, and plays McDowell at Patton on Wednesday (6 p.m.) in a non-conference game.
East Lincoln 5, Maiden 3
Evan Pawloski went 3-for-3, hitting a home run and driving in two runs, to spark the Mustangs (8-12, 4-8) to a South Fork 2A victory at home.
Derek Martin picked up a win in relief of Tyler Cox, going two innings. He gave up no runs, one hit and struck out three. Cox gave up four hits and struck out four over five innings.
Maiden’s losing streak was extended to three games, leaving the Blue Devils at 3-15, 2-10 and in seventh place.
East Lincoln is at home Monday at 7 p.m. for a non-league game against Kings Mountain, then closes the league schedule at West Lincoln (7 p.m.) on Tuesday and at home against Newton-Conover on Friday (7 p.m.).
Maiden is at Newton-Conover for a league game Tuesday at 7 p.m., plays a non-league game at home against St. Stephens on Wednesday (7 p.m.) and closes its conference schedule on Friday at 7 p.m. at home, facing Lincolnton.
GIRLS SOCCER
Lake Norman Charter 10, Maiden 1 (Thursday)
The Knights remained unbeaten in the South Fork 2A with a home victory.
Kasey Hahn’s goal gave Lake Norman Charter (14-0-1, 10-0-0) an early lead.
Maiden (4-5-1) tied it on a goal by Elena Propst before the Knights scored the final nine goals of the match.
Ayden Yates had three goals for Lake Norman Charter, Hahn scored two and Alex Behnke scored two. Yates provided three assists and Hahn had two while goalkeeper Kaela Rasenberger made two saves.
Destiny Spring had five saves for the Blue Devils.
Lake Norman Charter plays at Newton-Conover on Tuesday (6 p.m.) and against second-place Lincolnton on Thursday (6 p.m.) at home.
Maiden battles North Lincoln on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Maiden and goes to East Lincoln on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.