Southern High School’s softball team, the Lady Patriots, brought home a state championship win Saturday when they defeated Alexander Central High School in a three-game series at North Davidson High School.
Before bringing home the trophy for their 3A division, the Lady Patriots played the western North Carolina team on Friday night, losing 8-2, before winning both games Saturday, 3-0 and 11-3 respectively.
The team’s record for the season, which was shortened substantially by the pandemic, was 17-4, a tally that includes the play-off games.
Southern’s regular season kicked off in March, wrapping up by the end of April and taking the team to the play-offs earlier this month.
This championship marks the eighth that the women’s team has won overall, and the first since 2004.
The event also proved a bit ironic for head coach Jon Russell, who both graduated from and later coached at Alexander Central before coming to Alamance County.
The team’s only senior, Isley Duggins (#20), was awarded the team’s MVP award during the tournament.
Duggins recently signed on with Elon University and plans to continue her softball career with the Phoenix this fall.
