PINETOWN — For the first time in over a month, freshmen were difficult to locate in the Northside lineup and in the field. Matching up against Class 1-A’s top player, Spring Creek senior Rachel McCollum, the time for learning and gaining experience had long passed. Only one of the team’s six freshman, Whitney Cromwell, received playing time on Saturday in a 5-3, matinee win over the Gators in Round 2 of the NCHSAA 1-A state softball tournament.

“It’s time to let the upperclassmen play and do what they’re supposed to do. And they did it, stuck with it,” said head coach Riley Youmans. “Could we have played a better game? Yes we could have played a better game. We had a couple errors that were costly, but matched up with what we saw today, they did really well. That was a really good team in Spring Creek and we give them all the respect in the world, but the girls came out on top, came ready to play.”

And against McCollum, who entered with a class-high .805 batting average and 12 home runs, the strategy was simple — give her nothing. In her final high school game, the Gators’ captain was walked all three times and crossed home plate only once. In the pitcher’s circle, she finished with nine strikeouts in a losing effort.

“That was the strategy and it’s something you hate to do, but with a hitter like that in a tight playoff game, that’s the downfall of being a good hitter. You’re not going to get those pitches you want,” Youmans said. “Kelsey (Lang) and Rachel (Lang) did an excellent job with that.”

Kelsey Lang pitched the first five innings and allowed three runs (none earned) on one hit, picking up eight strikeouts, while Rachel Lang closed the game out through the final two innings, striking out three.

After a scoreless first inning, Spring Creek threw the first blow, as Sarah Ford walked and, two batters later, came around to score on an error. But Northside had an answer in the bottom half of the frame. Rachel Lang singled to left and was driven in by a Taonya Stanley double to the gap in right-center. Stanley came around to score, but following a Cromwell single and walks to Alex Adams and Mackensi Swain, the Panthers would leave the basis loaded.

“We had several opportunities to lay some bunts down, move some runners around,” Youmans said in reference to leaving runners on base. “We didn’t do what we were supposed to do those times. I was worried at first, but these girls fought hard and never give up on themselves.”

It was Northside’s turn to capitalize on fielding blunders in the third inning, as singles by Kendall Alligood and Tiffany Oliver, along with an error at second, produced another run, bringing the score to 3-1

McCollum found her way home in the top of the fourth after Alana Price followed with a single and Daisy Martinez drove them both in with a double to left-center. Alligood broke the tie in the bottom half of the frame with a single to center, as Northside held an uncomfortable 4-3 lead at the end of four.

Lang retired the side in the sixth, while the Panthers tacked on another run of insurance. But with the Gators’ backs up against the wall, the visitors certainly went down swinging. Martinez singled and Rebekah Cox followed with a single of her own. A timely double play changed the course of the inning and halted the Gator comeback, as Rachel Lang finished Round 2 off with a strikeout.

“Facing a pitcher like (McCollumn), I was very proud of them,” Youmans said. “At the end of the game, we made a double play at the plate and it was one of those plays that you can’t ask for any better.”

With the win, the Panthers improve to 22-0 (12-0 Coastal Plains) and advances to the third round of the 1-A state tournament, where they await the winner of No. 8-seeded Princeton (16-4) and No. 9-seeded East Carteret (19-3). Round 3 will take place on Tuesday in Pinetown.