Heading into Monday afternoon’s game, C.B. Aycock had an eight-game losing streak against South Central.
But all streaks must come to an end at some point, and on Monday, the Golden Falcons snapped its eight-game losing streak against South Central with a 6-5 victory.
“The girls never gave up, and I was proud of them,” C.B. Aycock head coach LaVon Matthews said. “They did some good base running, we put the bat on the ball, and we made things happen.
“We scored when we had to.”
C.B. Aycock jumped to a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, but in the top of the third inning, South Central took a 2-1 lead when Alexi Hastings hit a two-run home run.
Later in the inning, Kaci Johnson’s RBI single gave South Central a 3-1 lead.
However, the Golden Falcons responded in the bottom of the third.
Abbey Thomas hit an RBI single and sent home McKenzie Millard. Annsleigh Rouse then hit a triple that enabled Aaliyah Lassiter and Thomas to cross home plate.
The Golden Falcons added one more run in the inning and now led 5-3.
“We weren’t getting good swings. We were way out in front. We would just swing and punch at the ball, and punching the ball is not going to work. We had to swing the bats like we mean it,” Matthews said. “So, I was telling the girls ‘to go up there and have good swings, and no matter where goes, just make good solid contact and hit it hard.’”
Both teams were unable to score in the fourth inning, but in the top of fifth, South Central cut C.B. Aycock’s lead down to 5-4.
The Falcons would go on to tie the game 5-5 in the top sixth inning, but once again, C.B. Aycock responded in the bottom of the sixth.
Abby Walker drew a walk to get on base, and Walker eventually made it to third base.
And with two outs on the board, Thomas drilled an RBI single that enabled Walker to score the go-ahead run.
Shawna Williams then struck out two of the three batters she faced in the top of the seventh, and the Golden Falcons held off South Central to get the win.
“South Central has some girls that can hit it out, but Shawna kept the ball down. She kept them offspeed, worked in and out, and she threw strikes when she had to,” Matthew said. “Our defense helped a lot, and we didn’t give up.”
C.B. Aycock (7-4 overall) is back in action today. The Golden Falcons host South Lenoir (10-1) for a double-header. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
