The threat of rain and severe weather this past week prompted the cancellations and postponements of several area high school sports throughout the week. One such postponement was the highly anticipated rematch of the Clinton baseball, softball, and soccer teams traveling to Midway. Those games will be held this Wednesday at Midway beginning at 6 p.m.

The Midway teams did participate in games earlier in the week as they traveled to take on Pender in Four County Conference action.

Baseball

After being stunned in blowout fashion earlier in the season by the Patriots, the Raiders baseball team made the trip down Highway 421 to return the favor. Midway pummeled Pender by the score of 14-2 to avenge their only conference loss. After two complete innings, the Raiders led 2-1 before exploding in the fourth and sixth innings, scoring six runs apiece, to put the score at 14-1. Pender added one run in the bottom of the sixth inning, but the damage had been done as Midway cruised to victory, 14-2. Austin Raynor, Jake Clark, and Dustin Holland all led the Raiders with two hits apiece. Raynor also contributed three RBIs, as did Wesley Johnson, and Holland added two. Raiders pitcher Carson Calcutt was awarded the win as he went five innings tallying 11 strikeouts and only giving up one run.

With the win, Midway improves to 10-3 overall and 7-1 in the Four County Conference. They resume conference play on Tuesday as they travel to take on Union.

Softball

For the second time this season, the Lady Raiders and the Lady Patriots tangled up on the softball field in a game that went down to the wire. It took extra innings for Pender to grind out one final run to win the game in the bottom of the 10th inning, 10-9.

The Lady Patriots ran out to a 3-0 first inning lead before extending the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the second. Midway, however, wasn’t just going to roll over and accept defeat. The Lady Raiders reeled off four runs of their own in the top to third to tie the game, 4-4.

After a scoreless inning and a half, the Lady Patriots appeared to have dealt the final blow as they posted five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, but once again, Midway wasn’t going down quietly. The Lady Raiders responded, immediately answering with five runs of their own in the top of the sixth inning to tie things back up at 9-9. That score held solid all the way until the bottom of the 10th inning as Pender scored one last run to win the game, 10-9.

The loss drops Midway to 6-5 overall and 5-3 in the Four County Conference. They will be back in action on Tuesday as they travel to take on Union.

Soccer

The Lady Raiders soccer team continued their successful season as they enjoyed a 6-0 victory over the Lady Patriots. Midway scored three goals in each half to tally the 6-0 victory. With the win, Midway improves to 10-2 overall and 6-2 in the Four County Conference. They will be back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Union.

Golf

The Raiders golf team continued their winning ways on Thursday, picking up another team victory at the Vineyard Golf Course in White Lake. After rain cancelled Monday’s match, the teams convened again on the course in Bladen County on Thursday for another try. The Raiders took the victory with a score of 339 while Wallace-Rose Hill came in second with a 359 and Clinton placed third with a 366. Achieving medalist honors were Trey Pope of Midway and Ryan Graybar from Wallace-Rose Hill, each posting scores of 80.

Harrells softball

Harrells Christian Academy and Arendell Parrott Academy traded the lead back-and-forth on Wednesday, but eventually the Crusaders prevailed, winning 6-4, after Harrells Christian took the lead for good in the sixth inning. Down 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Kyra Gensel homered off of Darci Basden to deep left center field, driving in three runs. Talina Giles led off the inning with a sharp ground ball past third base and Brenna King drew a walk. The Crusaders added another run in the inning after Madison Cannon singled and later scored off a single by Sierra Votaw.

Arendell Parrott Academy took an early lead in the first inning. Basden grounded out to second, scoring Savannah Hill who led off the game with a single. Hope Cottle and King plated runs for the Crusaders in the bottom half of the first to give Harrells Christian the lead. Cottle walked and King doubled to make the score 2-1.

In the top of the fourth inning, the Patriots tied the score at 2-2. Caroline Casey led the inning off with a double to centerfield. Basden bunted Casey to third, and she scored on a sacrifice bunt by Elizabeth Norris. Parrott then took the lead 4-2 in the sixth after Casey and Basden each crossed home play for a pair of scores.

King earned the win for the Crusaders in her eighth appearance, throwing a complete game. She surrendered four runs, five hits, and struck out eight. Basden took the loss for Arendell Parrott Academy. She tossed six innings, giving up six runs, six hits, and striking out five.

Amaya Sloan, King, Talina Giles, Sierra Votaw, Kyra Gensel, and Madison Cannon each collected one hit to lead Harrells. Savannah Hill led Arendell Parrott Academy with two hits in three at bats.

Harrells Christian is now 7-7 on the year with a 2-0 record in the Coastal Rivers 2A Conference. They will host Fayetteville Christian School on Tuesday. Parrott is now 6-6 overall and winless in two conference games. They travel to the Oakwood School Wednesday.

Union

The Spartans baseball team participated in two games during the week and posted one win and one loss. In the first game, Union hosted Jones Senior, in which the Spartans were able to grind out an 8-6 victory. The game was tied 1-1 through three innings before the 7-unanswered runs to take an 8-1 lead after six completed innings. The visiting Trojans strung together five runs in the top of the seventh but fell short, falling by the final score of 8-6.

In the second game of the week, Union resumed Four County Conference play with a road trip to Heide Trask. The Titans would be the victors of this game, posting a 7-5 victory over the visiting Spartans. Trask led 4-0 after two completed innings but the Spartans scored three runs in the third to cut the deficit to 4-3. Trask responded by scoring two more runs to go back ahead 6-3, but the Spartans responded, earning back those two runs to make it 6-5. Trask added one final run in the bottom of the sixth to reach the final margin of 7-5 as Union couldn’t put together a comeback attempt in the top of the seventh.

After this week’s games, the Spartans currently sit at 4-9 overall and 1-6 in the Four County Conference. They are back in action on Tuesday, hosting Midway.

The Union softball and soccer teams each fell in both games this week as both teams remain winless on the season. They look to pick up their first wins of the season on Tuesday, also hosting Midway.

Softball edged out in extras; tilts with Clinton up next

By Daron Barefoot

Sports Editor

Reach Sports Editor Daron Barefoot at [email protected].