Yahoo Sports Garner blows out Weddington to win its first NCHSAA 4A softball state championship
Garner High School won its first NCHSAA 4A fast-pitch state championship Saturday at UNC-Greensboro. For the second straight game, Weddington, with just five seniors on a 17-player roster, looked like a young team not accustomed to playing in the big game.
Weddington lost Game 1 of the best-of-3 series Friday night, 3-1, after an uncharacteristic run of errors and poor decisions. That loss ended a six-game win streak where the Warriors had reached their first state championship — just four years after they went through a season without winning a game.
In Game 2, which began at 11 a.m. Saturday morning, Weddington had to win to force a deciding Game 3 later that day, but things just didn’t go well. The Warriors again played tight. Garner hit two home runs and knocked a third ball against the outfield wall, winning 12-1 in decisive fashion.
The game was stopped after the fifth inning due to the 10-run rule.
“I told the girls before we left that business hadn’t been finished,” Garner coach Moe Barbour said, “and the key to today’s game was to jump on them early and keep the pressure on.”
Barbour’s team just that.
Weddington (21-5) had not allowed a team to score more than three runs in a game all season. Garner (28-2) scored three times in the second inning and six in the fourth.
And the Warriors’ problems started early.
Weddington’s starting pitcher walked three batters in the first inning and a throwing error put Garner’s Gabriela Mizelle into scoring position. Mizelle later scored on a sacrifice fly from Brittany Stephens.
In the second inning, Garner starting pitcher Gabriella Czuczuk reached on a single and advanced on Weddington’s third error of the game. After a successful bunt from Alyssa Meyer, Mizelle came up later, with one out, and smacked a three-run homer to left.
“We finally swung the bats like I knew we could,” Barbour said, “and you know, I couldn’t be more proud of my team.”
In the fourth, the most damaging inning, Garner put the game away.
First, Stephens hit a single against the wall that scored two runners. The next batter, Lily Keefer, smacked a homer to right, holding her right arm up in celebration as the ball took off and her built an 8-0 lead.
Keefer knew it was gone as soon as she hit it.
And by then, everybody knew it.
Garner was the state champ.
Notable
In the bottom of the second, down 4-0, Weddington had runners on first and second with one out. Reece Lindsay was called out, apparently trying to steal third while Lane Arthur was at bat. After some discussion, Lindsay was initially allowed to remain at third, but officials eventually called she was out. Immediately after that, Arthur smacked a single to right. UNC commit Jadyn Howell moved to third. But with two outs and runners on first and third, Garner pitcher Gabriella Czuczuk got a ground out from Ava McCauley to end the inning.
Garner won its first state title Saturday but the Trojans have played on the final weekend before. In 2004, when the NCHSAA used a “Final Four” format, playing the Eastern and Western Regional championships and state finals on the same weekend, Garner reached the final weekend of play. The Trojans were eliminated during the double-elimination format. Central Cabarrus beat Cape Fear 1-0 for the title that year.
Weddington should be a state title favorite again next year, returning the bulk of its team, including sophomore pitcher Joella Thomas.
Before the best-of-3 series, Weddington had allowed just 20 runs all year. Garner scored 13 in two games.
Media covering the game selected Garner’s Lily Keefer as championship MVP. She was 2 for 3 Saturday and scored twice.
They said it
“I think it was just a group effort. We all worked our butts off this entire year and we all played the best game we’ve ever played, and we’ve played for each other. That’s why we won.” — Garner catcher Brittany Stephens
Summary
Garner 130 62 — 0 9 1
Weddington 000 10 — 0 4 3
WP: Gabriella Czuczuk
