GREENSBORO — Facing a must-win situation, Eastern Randolph got a gem of a performance from Savannah Beaver in the pitching circle as the sophomore southpaw shut out West Stanly 3-0 on Saturday night at the UNC-Greensboro Softball Complex to force a decisive Game 3 in the 2A Softball State Championship Series.
Beaver was simply fantastic in hurling the two-hit shutout which featured seven strikeouts while allowing just one lone walk.
Eastern Randolph improved to 25-6 in forcing a winner take all contest to be played back at UNC-Greensboro Sunday at 4 p.m.
West Stanly lost for just the second time this season to drop to 27-2 overall heading into the Sunday finale for all the marbles.
The Wildcats made the most of their five hits of the night, pushing across single runs in the first, third and fifth innings. Beaver helped her own cause in the bottom of the first inning, picking up an RBI infield single that drove in Courtnee Carter with two outs to put Eastern Randolph into the lead 1-0. Carter had walked and Aniyah King slapped an infield single to set the stage for Beaver.
In the bottom of the third, the Wildcats added onto their lead after Carter led off the inning with a double to left and moved to third on a groundout by King. Moments later, Brooklyn Rush put down a bunt as Carter sprinted home just ahead of the tag to put Eastern Randolph up 2-0.
The Wildcats added an insurance run in the fifth, opening the inning with a pair of singles b King and then Rush before Beaver sacrificed them into scoring position to set up Kelsey Craven’s sacrifice fly to right which plated King from third to give the Wildcats a 3-0 advantage.
Beaver did the rest on the mound in firing the masterful shutout.
Craven paced Eastern Randolph offensively with a 1-for-1 day that included a double, and RBI and a sacrifice fly while Carter closed 1-for-2 with two runs and a walk, King 1-for-2 with a run, Beaver 1-for-2 with an RBI, and Rush 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Shelby Barbee and Roslyn McCrae were both 1-for-3 for West Stanly in the loss while Jordan Hatch suffered the loss on the mound after working all six innings and allowing five hits, three runs, a walk and fanning seven.