The pregame ceremony belonged to Washington seniors Shakeria Lomax, Katelyn Singleton, Caroline Smith, Kristi Wood, Brandi Hardison and Jessica Cartwright, but once the game started South Central’s Caroline Wainwright stole the show. On the mound, the Falcons’ ace held the Pam Pack to two hits, while at the plate she went 4-for-4 with an RBI to lead South Central to 2-0 victory on Tuesday.

Washington (10-12, 8-5) entered Tuesday’s contest with its Coastal Conference rival sitting at third place in the conference tied with Havelock, who will play South Central (13-4, 11-2) on Thursday. The Pack, who has already clinched a playoff birth, will look to hold on to or improve its playoff seeding when it plays its regular season finale Thursday at White Oak.

On Tuesday, Washington simply had no answer for the Falcons’ senior hurler.

“Wainwright is hard to hit,” Washington coach Doug Whitehead said. “She keeps the ball down low, it’s extremely hard to hit and I’m glad she is graduating.”

The game started out in fantastic fashion as Washington tipped its cap to its own ace Hardison by letting the injured pitcher throw to the first batter on Senior Night. Kayla Ruffin belted Hardison’s last pitch of the game to left field, but the Pack’s Kat Staton tracked the ball down and made a spectacular catch as she crashed into the outfield fence to rob Ruffin of a hit. After that at-bat, Washington brought in Morgan Bryant who threw a solid game in defeat as she fanned seven batters and scattered 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings.

“Kat Staton made a great catch to keep, as the girls’ said, Brandi’s no-hitter intact,” Whitehead joked.

The Pam Pack escaped a jam in the fourth inning as South Central loaded up the bases with no outs but could not score a run. Bryant recorded the first out of the inning by striking out Ashley Wynne. Washington got its second out when Brittany Hagerty grounded to third where Sydney Gurkin fielded the ball and fired it home in time to force out a runner at home plate. The third out of the inning came when the Pack picked off a runner trying to steal home. A Bryant pitch had gotten past Lomax, who was quick to field it and threw a strike back to the covering Bryant in time to nail the runner at the plate.

While Washington was able to escape in the fourth it was not as fortunate in the fifth as Ruffin and Wainwright each drove in a run to take a 2-0 lead.

“We got out of some jams … and we played them well,” Whitehead said. “The last time we played them we lost 10-0 in five innings.”

The contest was the final home game for the six Washington seniors and Whitehead praised the work and effort of his upperclassmen.

“We have six great girls,” Whitehead said. “Kristi Wood is four-year starter for me at second base and is a phenomenal player, a great girl and a leader.

“Caroline Smith is a two-year starter for us at shortstop and has done a fabulous job there.

“Katelyn Singleton has shifted around for us some. She played first base last year and has shifted to outfield for us and has done a great job there.

“Jessica Cartwright is in her third year in the program and has been a great reserve for us this year and has been a great cheerleader on the bench for us.

“Shakeria Lomax has been a great addition for us this year. Last year we lost Hayley Stowe at catcher and this year Shakeria was able to come in and play. I let her call the games and she does a good job of that and handles the pitching staff well; she is a terror on the base paths too.

“Brandi Hardison has been a staple for us here as far as pitching for the last two years. Unfortunately she is hurt for us right now but she is a good team player.”

South Central 000 020 0 č 2 10 1

Washington 000 000 0 č 0 2 1

WP: Caroline Wainwright: LP: Morgan Bryant

Hitting: SC č Kayla Ruffin 1-3 (RBI), Morgan Davis 3-4, Caroline Wainwright 4-4 (RBI), Brittney Hagerty 1-3, Paige Davis 1-3; Shakeria Lomax 1-3, Justyce McKissick 1-3.