The first round of the 2A softball championships kicked off Wednesday, May 18, as the top 64 squads from 19 conferences took to diamonds across North Carolina. Among that select group of teams were the 18-5 Lady Wolverines.
As the number three seed from the Western Highlands Conference, Polk drew a tough first round opponent, traveling to Canton to square off against powerhouse Pisgah High School. The Black Bears, number one seed in the Western N.C. Athletic Conference and ranked as the sixth best 2A team in the state, took the field as the clear favorite against head coach Jeff Wilson’s ambitious squad.
Polk jumped in front early, as freshman standout Brittany Jones tagged a Logan Mathews’ fastball to the gap in left center for a leadoff double. Jones moved to third on an Alyssa Montgomery bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly to deep center by Jamie Hrobak to put the Lady Wolverines up by a run.
Polk’s lead proved short-lived, as with one out in the bottom of the first, Pisgah’s Hali Worley launched a Hrobak screwball over the center field fence for a solo home run.
Pisgah made some more noise at the plate in the second, as the first three batters reached on a walk, a single and a hit by pitch. With bases full of Black Bears and no outs, Hrobak dug down for a little extra, striking out Hannah Hudson on a 3-2 pitch. Next up for Pisgah was Sidney Parris, driving a Hrobak pitch to deep center that was snagged by Shalyn Brown, who fired a perfect throw to catcher Alicia Lockhart to nail Kaitlyn Hannah at home for the third out.
The Black Bears broke the deadlock for good in the third, as Pisgah’s Worley led off the inning with her second round-tripper of the game, driving a Hrobak offering the opposite way over the fence in right-center. Three hits and a walk later, the Lady Wolverines headed into the dugout down by two runs. Though the Lady Wolverines were able to put runners aboard in the fifth and sixth, they were unable to cross the plate again as the stingy Pisgah defense ended Polk’s season with a 3-1 loss.
“I was really proud of the girls,” said Wilson following the loss. “We played an excellent game against an excellent opponent, and just came out on the short end today.”
The Lady Wolverines finish the season 18-6, while Pisgah moved on to the second round to face number two seed Madison.