Three Chatham County baseball and softball teams played in important games for Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference positioning last week. Here’s a quick look at the action as the teams battled to claim or maintain the top conference spot:
Chatham Central 4 – Jordan-Matthews 1 (Softball)
After Jordan-Matthews’ softball team snatched the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference’s top spot from Chatham Central on April 16, the Bears reclaimed the throne the very next night, beating the Jets, 4-1, in the rematch.
Riddled with plenty of flyouts and pop ups, the game was decided in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs and bases loaded, Chatham Central sophomore Sallie Oldham tripled a deep shot to left field, sending in the Bears’ first three runs. Trying to get the ball back to the infield, the Jets made a throwing error, sending Oldham home for the fourth run.
“I knew (Jordan-Matthews pitcher Marcy Clark) was down 3-1, so I was like, ‘she’s going to throw me a ball,’’’ Oldham said. “Bases were loaded, so I knew she wasn’t going to walk me and walk a run in. So, I was like, ‘I got this. I’m going to (bring) my teammates in,’ and I did just that.”
From that point, score remained 4-0 for multiple innings. Chatham Central pitcher Maddie Kaczmarczyk didn’t throw many strikeouts, but she gave batters strikes to hit so that her teammates could make plays in the field.
Junior Emma Burke made many of those plays from third base and hustled for any out she could to stop any Jordan-Matthews’ momentum, including a clean scoop and throw to first base to end the top of the third inning and a popup catch to end the top of the fifth right after the Jets scored their only run. Shortstop Katherine Gaines and catcher Carleigh Warf also contributed to the Bears’ dominant defensive performance.
“The girls in the field did their job (and) made sure to back up their pitcher and keep her in check, which allowed her to keep smiling and not get down on herself or anyone else,” Chatham Central head coach John Warf said.
Seaforth 5 – North Moore 1 (Baseball)
Trying to hold on to first place in the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference, Seaforth completed the season sweep over North Moore Saturday, 5-1.
In another low-scoring affair with the Mustangs, the Hawks’ defense, from the pitchers to the outfielders, stepped up. They set the tone early in the opening inning as freshman second baseman Anthony Landano turned an out at second base into a double play after throwing down to catcher Colin Dorney for the tag at home.
“That’s the staple of our program,” Seaforth head coach Landon Jones said. “That’s what we do. That’s who we are. We pitch, (and) we play good defense. We try to pride ourselves on that.”
Seaforth opened their first at-bat with four straight singles. Dane O’Neill batted in lead-off hitter Daniel White for the first run, and two others, Jaedyn Rader and Cade Elmore, made it home off of dropped pitches. The Hawks scored once more on a dropped pitch in the bottom of the third inning, and their final run came in the bottom of the sixth.
Rader had himself a day both as a pitcher and a batter, going 3-3 from the plate while keeping the Mustangs scoreless for five innings with the help of the defense behind him. Dorney also made a few fielding assists from behind the plate, staying aware of what North Moore’s runners were doing.
In the top of the sixth inning, North Moore, down 4-1 with bases loaded and one out, sent Aidan Corfios to the plate. Rader struck him out, allowing Seaforth to just make the easy out in the next at-bat to keep the Mustangs at bay.
“I was just fired up,” Rader said. “I just wanted to pump gas. I knew as long as I threw strikes, my teammates would have my back, (and) they’d get the out anyways.”
As of Sunday, Seaforth boasts a 10-2 conference record. The Hawks will have to battle it out with second-place Bartlett Yancey (8-2 in conference play) this week to determine the regular season conference champion.