Robbinsville – The Lady Knights' hopes of a state championship will have to wait at least one more year.
Hosting the South Stokes Sauras (No. 13 seed, 17-8) in the second round of the postseason Friday, Robbinsville (No. 3, 17-4) fought valiantly to overcome an early deficit – but simply ran out of answers in a 7-5 loss at Judy Nichols Memorial Field.
Olivia Martin was a thorn in the side of Robbinsville throughout the afternoon, as the Sauras senior went 3-for-4 at the plate and homered in the top of the fifth. Freshman starting pitcher Marissa Crandall aided her own cause with a 2-for-2 evening, while striking out two batters in three innings of work. Abbagail Eaton picked up the win for South Stokes, tossing four innings of relief.
Down 2-0 after the top of the first, the Knights got back in the mix by tying the game 4-4 in the third off a Presley Caylor single. The deadlock came just one inning after senior hurler Naomi Taylor also gave herself a boost by propelling her team-best fifth long ball of the year. The Maryville (Tenn.) College-commit fanned three Sauras in her final game for Robbinsville.
Both Caylor and Suri Watty were 3-for-4 at the dish, with the latter joining freshman Kynadee Spencer in posting a Knights double.
South Stokes will return to Western North Carolina for the third round Tuesday, as Swain County (No. 11, 17-5) will host the Sauras following a 12-1 walloping of Cherryville (No. 6, 14-10) on Friday.
Read a more detailed recap in the May 15 edition of The Graham Star.
2nd Round SMC Playoff Scoreboard
Baseball
* Hayesville (No. 8, 14-8) bested Mountain Island Charter (No. 24, 9-14), 8-4;
* Swain County (No. 23, 12-9) were shut out by Mountain Heritage (No. 26, 11-11), 15-0.
Softball
* Cherokee (No. 23, 7-8) upended Piedmont Community Charter (No. 7, 16-5), 6-0;
* Murphy (No. 12, 15-7) defeated Bethany Community (No. 5, 13-7), 7-3;
* Robbinsville (No. 3, 17-4) fell 7-5 to South Stokes (No. 14, 17-8);
* Swain County (No. 11, 17-5) beat Cherryville (No. 6, 14-10), 12-1.
3rd Round Schedule (Tuesday, May 13):
* Cherokee softball at East Wilkes (No. 2, 23-4);
* Hayesville baseball at Cherryville (No. 1, 19-7);
* Murphy softball at winner of Uwharrie Charter (No. 4)/Starmount (No. 13);
* Swain County softball vs. South Stokes.