Raiders set to face off with Cougars, with state title on line
Midway shortstop Kiley Ives ranges deep into the hole to flag down a ground ball against Martin County.
Raider pitcher Sarah Autry winds up and strides to the plate. Autry sent a steady diet of high, hard pitches to the Martin County batters for five scoreless innings to notch the first win in a series they ultimately took 2-0.
The Midway Lady Raiders now know who they will face in their return to the State Championship series this weekend: the Southwest Randolph Lady Cougars. The series is slated to get underway Friday night at the UNC-Greensboro softball complex and will wrap up on Saturday with the crowning of a new 2A State Champion.
The Lady Raiders have left a trail of smoke in their postseason march, barreling past each opponent they’ve faced with relative ease. With slight exception of their third round game against South Lenoir and maybe a brief few moments in game two of the eastern series on Friday, Midway has dominated their competition. Four of their six games were shutouts, which began back on May 7 when the Lady Raiders shut down Pasquotank 9-0 in the first round.
Nash Central, a team that Midway saw much later in the playoffs last season, was next to visit Spivey’s Corner, where a tight ballgame was expected to unfold. Instead, they were just another stepping stone along the path that the Lady Raiders eliminated 11-0 in five innings.
By far, the most gut-wrenching game of the playoffs was in the third round against South Lenoir, a team that handed Midway one of their three losses earlier in the season. This game was a defensive barnburner that highlighted brilliant pitching from both teams. For the Lady Raiders, it was freshman pitcher Kyleigh Stonerock that paved the way for her team. Against a team that had previously put up eight runs against Midway, Stonerock hurled 15 strikeouts, gave up just two hits and three walks, and allowed zero runs in a complete-game performance. This opened the door for the Lady Raiders offense to match their defense as they exploded for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and get past the Lady Blue Devils, 4-0…their third shutout of the playoffs.
In the fourth round, Jordan-Matthews had sprung an upset over No. 2 seeded Roanoke Rapids, setting the stage for Midway to hold on to home-field advantage. Sarah Autry was put in the circle for this contest and helped her team set the tone early. After forcing three-straight three up, three down innings, Autry and her Lady Raiders had built an 8-0 lead. When the top of the Lady Jets lineup came back around in the fourth, they delivered and applied some pressure on the Midway defense. They picked up a couple runs and the Lady Raiders coaching staff began to use their deep arsenal of pitchers to their advantage. Jordan Christopher came on in relief and held Jordan-Matthews to just one more run and Stonerock concluded the game to secure Midway’s 8-3 victory.
This trio of Midway’s pitching also all saw action in the Eastern Finals last week where the Lady Raiders playoffs rampage continued. After getting an 11-0 mercy rule win in game one, Martin County hit a small rally in game two at their place to try and stay alive. The Lady Raiders proved to be too much, though, as they held on for the win in a hostile environment, 6-3.
For Midway, it’s been a total team effort that has guided them to this weekend’s State Championship appearance.
Out in the west, the path for the No. 4 seeded Southwest Randolph (21-7) looks a little different. They haven’t quite put up the runs that Midway has, but their defense looks mighty impressive. Even more so when considering their resume, which includes taking down both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in that region.
The Lady Cougars got their postseason underway by taking down No. 29 seed Walkertown. That game wrapped up with the final score of 5-0. Southwest Randolph took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning before getting some breathing room in the bottom of the fourth by adding three more for a 4-0 lead. They added an insurance in the fifth and eventually staked the 5-0 win.
After that, each game for the Lady Cougars got progressively tighter. McMichael in the second round was a 4-0 final, though Southwest got their runs a little quicker. Getting runs in each of the first and second innings put the tally at 2-0 until the Lady Cougars doubled things up in the bottom of the fifth for the 4-0 win.
In the third round against Owen, the final result was a 3-0 final. Again, the Lady Cougars took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first before making it 3-0 in the third.
The fourth round is where Southwest Randolph tangled with No. 1 seed West Wilkes. They brought in a 21-0 overall record but they didn’t leave with it. The Lady Cougars dug deep and pulled the upset in a 1-0 defensive victory.
It wasn’t until the West Regional Championship series that a team scored a run against Southwest Randolph and even then it took eight innings. North Stanly, the No. 2 seed, finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth inning for the winning run in a 1-0 battle. The second game was even more impressive, taking 13 innings to complete. The Lady Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning before North Stanly tied it up in the fifth. The score didn’t change again until the bottom of the 13th when Southwest punched one through to keep their season alive and tie the series up. For the final game, the Lady Cougars handed out another shutout in picking up the 2-0 victory to clinch the series and set themselves up for a date with Midway.
It’s clear to see that the Lady Cougars have a big weapon in the circle and her name is Macie Crutchfield. Stats for Southwest Randolph weren’t entered following a couple of their postseason games so her true numbers are incomplete. However, it is evident that the junior slinger is the Lady Cougars primary pitcher and will be one of the key points of emphasis in this week’s practices at Midway.
Another emphasis for the Lady Raiders will be staying hot at the plate. Midway has accumulated 55 hits since the playoffs began – a number they’d certainly love to see grow in this upcoming series.
In the pitching department, the Lady Raiders are certainly capable of holding their own. After all, Autry and Christopher already bring championship experience and have flashed what they’re capable of several times this season. The addition of Stonerock is certainly icing on the cake.
Another factor that can’t go unmentioned, though, is location and timing. That advantage leans heavily in favor of Southwest Randolph, whose community is just a 35- to 40-minute drive compared to the two and half hours for Midway. On Midway’s team are two seniors and a junior marshal. A jam-packed weekend, but certainly an exciting one, is in store for the Midway community.
Game one at UNCG is Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Game two will be Saturday at 2 p.m. and, if necessary, game three will be Saturday night at 8 p.m.