By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Eastern Alamance softball team has relied on Delani Straughan as its starting pitcher for three seasons and she keeps delivering.
The latest example came with a two-hitter in Tuesday night’s 4-0 victory against visiting Currituck County in the opening round of the Class 3-A state playoffs.
Straughan, a senior, struck out 10 batters, pushing her season total to above 150 strikeouts, and walked one.
The Eagles (18-7) will be home Friday night against ninth-seeded Harnett Central (18-4), a 9-6 victor against Pikeville Aycock.
Straughan said she relies on a strong mental approach in the pitcher’s circle.
“I don’t let them get in my head,” she said. “You can’t let outside noise get to you.”
From a physical standpoint, Straughan said conditioning is important as she could throw 2,000 pitches a season. She has thrown in all except two games this season.
Eastern coach Danny Way said he likes how Straughan is able to keep opponents off balance. On Tuesday night, she was aided by center fielder Addieson Hester’s running catch in right-center field.
Also against Currituck County (11-14), McKenzie Blevins’ bases-loaded walk and Olivia Foster’s run-scoring single gave the Eagles a first-inning lead. They added unearned runs with two outs in the fourth.
“Our schedule set us up really well for going into playoffs,” Straughan said. “We’ve shown that we wanted it more on multiple occasions.”
There wasn’t much drama in the first-round assignment compared to others for the Eagles.
“We had some wild games,” Way said. “Playing some hard games and playing away a lot and some really tough teams prepared us. We don’t panic now.”
Eastern was coming off last Thursday’s 7-5, nine-inning victory against visiting Cedar Ridge in the Central 3-A Conference Tournament final on Edie Stewart’s game-ending, two-run home run
The Eagles rallied from a 5-1 deficit. Stewart’s second home run of the game came after Carley Boggs nearly ended the game with a double off the fence. Boggs and Kinley Henderson notched three hits apiece.
It marked the first time in Way’s 14 seasons that the Eagles won both the conference regular season and tournament.
Also in Class 3-A
Bayleigh Burris homered and knocked in six runs as No. 18 seed Western Alamance moved on by defeating No. 15 seed North Brunswick 13-3.
Burris and Ryan Justice both provided three hits, while Burris Skylar Martin scored three runs apiece. Camryn Rodrigues had two hits and scored two runs. Addison Beal was the winning pitcher.
The Warriors (12-10) go to second-seeded Scotland (24-1), which whipped West Brunswick 10-0.
- Southern Alamance defeated 10th-seeded First Flight 6-4, breaking a tie with two runs in the top of the seventh. That sets up the No. 23 seed Patriots (12-14) for a second-round game at seventh-seeded Cape Fear (21-5), which won 12-7 against Greenville Rose.
Class 2-A
Winning pitcher Tatum Shelton drove in two runs as No. 22 seed Southeast Alamance defeated No. 11 seed East Carteret 5-3.
Southeast overcame a 3-0 deficit, scoring two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings. Addison Reich and Shelton each had two hits. Shelton struck out six in the four-hitter.
The Stallions (12-11) go to sixth-seeded South Lenoir (14-6), a 7-3 winner against No. 27 seed St. Pauls, on Friday.
Class 1-A
Cadence Collins hit two home runs and Gracie Hensley and Jersey Foster also homered as No. 10 seed Clover Garden defeated No. 23 seed Voyager Academy 12-5. Brandi Markham was the winning pitcher.
Next, the Grizzlies (12-6) go to seventh-seeded Chatham Central (19-3), which defeated East Wake 10-0.
No. 27 seed River Mill’s season ended with a 9-8 record after a 15-0 setback at sixth-seeded North Duplin.
Winning pitcher Tatum Shelton drove in two runs as No. 22 seed Southeast Alamance defeated No. 11 seed East Carteret 5-3.
Southeast overcame a 3-0 deficit, scoring two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings. Addison Reich and Shelton each had two hits. Shelton struck out six in the four-hitter.
The Stallions (12-11) go to sixth-seeded South Lenoir (14-6), a 7-3 winner against No. 27 seed St. Pauls, on Friday.
Class 1-A
Cadence Collins hit two home runs and Gracie Hensley and Jersey Foster also homered as No. 10 seed Clover Garden defeated No. 23 seed Voyager Academy 12-5. Brandi Markham was the winning pitcher.
Next, the Grizzlies (12-6) go to seventh-seeded Chatham Central (19-3), which defeated East Wake 10-0.
No. 27 seed River Mill’s season ended with a 9-8 record after a 15-0 setback at sixth-seeded North Duplin.
