The Clinton Dark Horse baseball, girls soccer and men’s tennis teams all had winning matches throughout the week last week.
Soccer
Continuing what has been a strong conference performance for Clinton’s soccer team, the Lady Dark Horses won against the Pender Patriots Thursday, 9-0.
Despite Pender’s initially solid attacking front, Clinton’s unified defense and offense overtook the visiting team.
The recent winning streak comes on the back of year-round hard work on the part of the Lady Dark Horses, and Coach Jeff Smith hopes it bodes well for the rest of their conference.
“We got a big game coming up in two weeks, number one team in the state,” said Coach Smith after the match. “We lost to them the last two years one to nothing, and it’s always a big fight with them. So, that’s what we’re working towards.”
Pender’s loss drops their overall to 2-7-1 and their Four County Conference score to 2-4. They stay home Tuesday as the Midway Lady Raiders travel for a rematch.
This win raises Clinton’s overall record to 10-1-1 and their conference record to 6-0. Notably, they rise in the rankings to No. 13 in the state for Women’s 2A Soccer.
They rematch the East Bladen Eagles at home Tuesday.
Baseball
Clinton rallied late in the game Wednesday night against the Pender Patriots, pulling out a last inning tie-breaker to carry the team to victory.
After taking two runs the top of the first and third inning, a win looked sure for the Patriots as Clinton’s bats fell silent at Pender’s 4-1 advantage. The divide on the scoreboard deepened as Pender’s Chase Norris crossed home plate in the top of the fourth for a daunting 6-1 lead. The stalemate held in the fifth as the Patriots made another run, for the 7-1 lead.
It was in the sixth inning, however, that the light began to show through. The top of the inning brought two runs once more for Pender’s Latrell Brown and Chase Norris, leaving a 9-1 scoreboard that appeared clearly insurmountable for the home team. It was in a stunning endgame regrouping, however, that Clinton pulled through. With two outs on the board, the Dark Horses loaded the bases twice over to make what was to be an astonishing eight run streak in the bottom of the sixth. Gage Jackson, Greylon Barwick, Logan Carr and Charles Jordan were a few among the number.
Opening the seventh was a tense 9-9 tie. The boost of morale bolstered Clinton’s defensive front, and Pender maintained their nine runs, with a whisper of the possibility of extra innings floating among the spectators. Then, it was Clinton’s turn at the plate––one out down and another batter up to the plate, the atmosphere was a tense one. Then, it flew. Clinton’s Andrew Thornton crossed the plate for a 10-9 tiebreaker.
“Team-wise, games like this keep their morale up. Keeps them bonding with each other, which is what we need,” said Coach Scott Lewis, after the game. “We hope it goes our way.”
The Pender Patriots stay home next Tuesday in a conference game against the Midway Raiders. This loss drops their overall record to 2-11, with their Four County Conference score at 2-5.
Clinton’s Dark Horses rematch the East Bladen Eagles in their next conference game this coming Tuesday. Their overall record is now 6-3, 4-3 in conference.
Tennis
Clinton traveled to Seven Springs Wednesday to take on the Spring Creek Gators in tennis and came home with an 8-1 victory. The Dark Horses swept the singles with Zach Darden, Peter Darden, Turner Wells, Cooper Brewen, Nick Brewen, and Jared Stephenson all winning in straight sets. Zach Darden teamed with Trevor Leggett and Nick Brewen teamed with Rick Daughtry for two doubles victories. With the win, Clinton improved to 6-2 overall prior to Thursday’s game against Cape Fear.
In that game, the Dark Horses came away with a 6-3 win to run its record to 7-2 on the season. Winning singles matches for Clinton were Peter Darden, Cooper Brewen, Nick Brewen, and Jared Stephenson. Doubles winners were Peter Darden with Cooper Brewen and Nick Brewen with Trevor Leggett. The Dark Horses begin conference play against West Bladen Tuesday in Bladenboro.