Midway’s stellar late season run continued on Thursday night as the Lady Raiders closed out the regular season with a win at Goldsboro, 13-4, to capture the East Central Conference Championship.
Midway scored three runs in the top of the first inning for a 3-0 lead as the Lady Raiders took advantage of three walks, two hits and two errors to score JJ Sankey, Leah Williams and Hannah Lucas.
Goldsboro, though, kept the game close, picking up a pair of runs in the first and second innings to keep things tight at 3-2.
Midway, however, began to pull away. The Lady Raiders picked up three more scores from Alyssa Wrench, Erin Barefoot and Caitlyn Holland on two hits and two errors to make it 6-2 in the top of the fifth.
After a scoreless bottom fifth, Midway was right back up to bat in the top of the sixth where they dealt the fatal blow.
Aided by five Lady Cougars errors, Midway turned three hits and four walks into seven runs to give the Lady Raiders a commanding 13-2 lead through five and half.
In the bottom of the sixth, Goldsboro picked up two more scores to make it 13-4 and to avoid the 10-run mercy rule.
Neither team added any runs the remainder of the way as Midway held on for the 13-4 win.
Sankey was sensational for the Lady Raiders, going 6-for-6 with six hits and four RBIs.
Lucas was also solid for Midway with three RBIs on two hits followed by Barefoot with two hits and two RBIs.
Laura Person, Abby Baggett and Holland all had one hit for the Lady Raiders.
With the win, Midway finishes at 16-5 overall and 11-1 in the conference. They will back in action on Wednesday when it is expected they will earn a first-round home playoff game. Brackets are expected to be released sometime this weekend.
Over on the soccer field, Midway earned a 2-1 victory over the Lady Cougars to keep their playoffs hopes alive. With the win, the Lady Raiders are on the bubble with a 9-8-1 overall record and a 5-7 East Central Conference record. They will find out their playoff fate by Monday.