Robbinsville bumps No. 1 seed to clinch Final Four berth
Asheboro – Uwharrie Charter Academy held all the cards: the No. 1 seed in the 1A West bracket and home field advantage.
However, there was one glaring disadvantage entering Friday’s fourth-round playoff game: the program had not played a team the caliber of Robbinsville. Bolstered by a pair of home runs from Zoie Shuler and Sophie Roberts, the Lady Knights upended the Lady Eagles (20-4-1) in a 4-3 battle.
Shuler’s long ball came on the first pitch issued by Uwharrie senior Mollie Bulla; an opposite-field, no-doubter that sent the Graham County faithful into a frenzy. Shuler later came home in the fifth on a Suri Watty groundout, before coming across the plate just ahead of Sophie Roberts in the seventh – moments after the latter sent a ball to the center-field fence that popped over the barrier, despite being nabbed at by Ansley Wright.
Roberts’ home run was her 10th of the season, while Shuler went yard for the 11th time this year – giving the senior University of Tennessee-commit sole possession of the program record for most homers in a single season. Her three trips across the dish also extended her state record for runs scored in a year to 67.
Inside the circle, senior Memory Frapp kept the hosts in-check for 6 ⅓ innings, exiting after Uwharrie finally made its way onto the board following a two-run triple off the bat of Jaylin Hurley, which drove home Gracie Smith and Ansley Wright.
Naomi Taylor was then called on to finish the task for Robbinsville and Hurley came home moments later on a Kenzie Hill groundout.
The Lady Knights punched their ticket to the Western Regional finals during the next at-bat, when Aubrey Kauffman grounded out.
Bulla (14-1) struck out 11 in the game; her career ends with 371 punch-outs – including 231 this season alone.
Meanwhile, Frapp fanned three to run her career strikeout mark to 386.