Jaycie Byrd looks to make contact during Tuesday’s game.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Midway baseball, softball take wins; soccer splits, golf dominant
Jordan Christopher unleashes a pitch toward home plate.
Tripp Westbrook takes a big cut during Tuesday’s game.
It was a good week for the Midway baseball and softball teams, who picked up a pair of wins over East Bladen and Red Springs on Tuesday and Thursday.
Baseball
It was a brutal night for outdoor activities as cold temperatures and a stiff wind made things miserable. Nonetheless, Midway had a successful night, earning a 5-1 win on the softball field, and a 1-0 win in baseball.
It took extra innings for the Raiders boys to grind out a hard-fought win on the baseball diamond. The game moved at a blistering pace with defense being the name of the game. A pitchers duel was certainly unfolding, but Midway had a golden opportunity to eke out the win in the bottom of the seventh inning. After some erroneous defense by the Eagles, the Raiders had runners on second and third with no outs. Stellar pitching saved the day for East Bladen, however…at least for the moment…as they retired the next three batters to squander Midway’s chance at victory.
Jumping to the bottom of the eighth inning, the situation unfolded in similar fashion. With one out, the Raiders took advantage of some Eagles miscues to load up the bases. This time, Wyatt Herring made contact on a ball that yielded one more error, allowing Hunter Tyndall to score the game-winning run for the 1-0 victory.
Midway was in action again on Thursday, picking up a dominating 14-0 victory on the road at Red Springs. Following that, they were slated for another match up against East Bladen on Friday.
Softball
Over on the softball field, the Lady Raiders enjoyed the taste of victory by way of a 5-1 win. Mallory Baggett got the scoring started in the third inning, hitting a double that she stretched into a three-bagger. She later scored on a passed ball and Midway led 1-0. Baggett was scored again in the fifth inning after drawing a walk and being moved around on hits by Eva McLamb, Jaycie Byrd, and Kara Beth Benton. Mclamb was also scored, and after five innings, the Lady Raiders led 3-0.
They added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning, making it 5-0 before eventually winning, 5-1.
The Lady Raiders were also back on the field on Thursday night and claimed a blowout 21-0 win at Red Springs and were on the road on Friday night at East Bladen.
Soccer
The Midway ladies soccer team split their two games prior to the press deadline, getting a 1-0 victory at Red Springs, but falling 1-0 against East Bladen on Tuesday night before traveling to take on the Lady Eagles on Friday.
Golf
The Midway golf team continued their winning ways this season, taking their fourth victory of the season. They shot a 327 on Thursday, which was 52 strokes better than second-place West Bladen at Coharie Country Club.
Logan Atkins shot 70 for Midway and was followed up by a 79 from Kaison Marley, an 88 from Jack Hazelbeck, and an 88 from Hagan Lanier. Connor Jackson shot 93, Ryan Naylor a 94, and Jonathan Stephenson a 93.
Reach Anthony McConnaughey at [email protected] or on Twitter @SampsonSports