Knights sluggish in regional opener
Ronda – Friday’s trip to Uwharrie Charter Academy was more than an overnight success, but the verdict is still out on what transpired Tuesday.
Everything felt off for the Lady Knights. Scoring opportunities were squandered throughout; defense was shaky; and most importantly, the hosting Lady Cardinals were dangerous enough to take advantage.
East Wilkes drew first blood in the best 2-out-of-3 Western Regional Finals series, handing Robbinsville a 4-0 shutout.
Things started promising enough. Zoie Shuler hit a dribbler on the first pitch of the game and sprinted to first. Suri Watty walked, before both runners later moved into scoring position on a one-out double steal.
But when the top of the first concluded, both were stranded.
In the home half, East Wilkes (No. 2 seed, 26-3) plated a pair of runs: Peyton Mastin scored on an error, while Zoe Cheek drove in Marissa Gambill.
Shuler was again left standing one base away from the dish in the third, after drawing a one-out walk, swiping second and advancing on a Watty grounder. In the bottom of the fourth, the Cardinals extended their lead when Jaylee Bird roped a single to bring Kyleigh Price around to score. Rutgers-commit Jayden Hutchinson sliced an opposite-field homer in the fifth to round out East Wilkes’ contributions to the tally.
Sophie Roberts connected for the only extra-base hit of the day for Robbinsville (No. 4, 24-3) in the top of the sixth, but pinch runner Liz Carpenter was left stranded when the dust settled. The Knights’ final attempts were set down in order.
Senior Memory Frapp dropped her first decision this year, falling to 14-1 after lasting just 3 ⅓ innings and only recording one strikeout.