10U Championship: Pitt County 4, Washington 3

KINSTON — The Washington 10U All-Star softball team needed a win against Pitt County in Game 1 of the 2014 Eastern Division State Championship to force a Game 2 and have a shot at taking the title.

Down two runs in the bottom of the sixth, Washington came back to tie the game after Sydney O’Neal and Mary Emma Holscher reached and eventually came around to score. The crowd’s cheers, as well as the chants from the 12U All-Stars, who had just finished defeating the Pitt County 12U championship game, motivated Washington as they battled through extra innings.

The Pitt County defense escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning, as Olivia Paszt, Savanna Craft and Laci Campbell were left stranded. Despite valiant defensive efforts on both ends, Pitt County finally broke through in the eighth with a run, as Washington was unable to answer in the bottom half of the frame.

Washington finishes the season as the 10U Eastern Division State Runner-Up.

 

8U Championship: Pitt County 13, Washington 6

KINSTON — Head coach Tony Chrismon and the Washington 8U All-Star softball forced a Game 2 in the 2014 Eastern Division State Championship on Wednesday, but were unable to stop Pitt County’s dynamic offense in Game 2, falling seven runs short.

Pitt County stayed consistent at the plate and maintained the lead throughout the game, scoring four runs in the first off two singles, a double and a triple. Washington answered with two quick runs in the bottom half of the frame, as Kirbi Case, Katherine Pollock, Ava Shae Mizell and Peyton Youmans all recorded hits.

Pollock picked up her second triple of the day in the third inning and eventually came around to score on a single by Mizell.

Leading 5-3, Pitt County sealed the victory with a big four-run fourth inning, followed by a two-run fifth. Washington added a run in the fourth and another in the sixth, but couldn’t find that game-defining rally.

With the loss, Chrismon’s team finished the season as the 8U Eastern Division State Runner-Up.