Robbinsville dominates 2nd, 3rd round opposition
Robbinsville – The friendly confines of Judy Nichols Memorial Field played favorably into the Lady Knights' hands during their 2026 postseason openers.
After enjoying a first-round bye, Robbinsville (No. 1, 23-2) welcomed Graham's River Mill Academy for the second round Friday and completely shut down the Jaguars, 10-0.
Tuesday ushered in Creedmore's Falls Lake Academy (No. 5, 15-10), which saw the visiting Firebirds muster one hit in another 10-0 thrashing.
All told, both of the Knights' first playoff opponents had a round-trip total of 1,220 miles.
Robbinsville simply had to report to its home field and do what it does best – and is now back in its third Western Regional series since 2019 as a result.
Perfection
The inital foray into the postseason featured the return of freshman Ella Nelms in a starting role to the circle, after being sidelined with a rhomboid muscle strain.
Nelms looked like she had not missed a beat, striking out 12 River Mill Academy (No. 8, 11-9) hopefuls and recording her second perfect game of the year.
Offensively, the Lady Knights gave her a boost of support right away. Sophie Roberts flew out to bring Suri Watty home in the bottom of the first, before roping a two-run single to drive in Khaygen Buchanan and Watty in the third.
Robbinsville blew the game open in the fourth. Sydney Adams dashed home on a fielder's choice, before Watty raked a double to drive in Myah Winfrey and Buchanan. Daphne Barlow followed suit with a double of her own to bring in Watty, before scoring on an error during the next at-bat.
The Knights sent the Jaguars home early in the sixth, when Anna Williams singled to score Watty and Nelms capped her flawless evening with a triple to welcome Williams home.
All told, Watty had three doubles in the game and Williams stole a pair of bases.
Fire's out
Kynadee Spencer homered and doubled twice to pace Tuesday's effort for Robbinsville. Watty and Dreylee Webster also roped doubles, with Roberts and Watty collecting two RBIs each.
The Lady Knights scored six runs in the bottom of the first, which boosted Nelms' confidence while toeing the rubber. Nelms improved to 18-0 on the campaign, striking out eight to run her overall total for the year to 192.
Robbinsville will host Bethany Community School (No. 6, 18-5) in Game 1 of the regional series, which begins Tuesday. The fourth round is skipped entirely in this year's 1A postseason bracket, due to a lower number of schools (32) than in classifications 2A-7A. The 8A bracket will also be off for the fourth round.
Follow The Graham Star on Facebook or X (@thegrahamstar) – as well as @KevinHensleyCNI on X – for updates on the regional series.
SMC playoff scoreboard
1st round: May 5, 2026
* Chatham Central (No. 3, 22-5) 17, Andrews (1A, No. 14, 1-16) 0
* Cherokee (2A, No. 13, 8-9) 10, Avery County (No. 20, 4-17) 0
* Hayesville (2A, No. 17, 3-16) 21, Bradford Preparatory Academy (No. 16, 3-12) 8
* Bethany Community School (1A, No. 6, 17-5) 13, Hiwassee Dam (No. 11, 6-11) 4
* Chatham Charter (1A, No. 7, 13-9) 5, Rosman (No. 10, 9-10) 0
2nd round: May 8, 2026
* South Stanly (No. 1, 22-2) 21, Hayesville 0
* Starmount (No. 4, 19-7) 8, Cherokee 0
* Swain County (2A, No. 3, 19-4) 6, Mountain Island Charter (No. 14, 9-11) 5
* Murphy (2A, No. 6, 12-9) wins via forfeit over Cherryville (No. 11, 11-12)
* Robbinsville 10, River Mill Academy 0
3rd round: May 12, 2026
* Robbinsville 10, Falls Lake Academy 0
* Swain County 2, Murphy 1 (9)