Eagles' historic run concludes

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on May 23, 2012 1:48 PM

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NEWTON GROVE -- One Cinderella story had to end.

Hobbton scored three runs in the third inning and held on for a 3-2 win over Rosewood in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A state softball playoffs on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats advanced to the best-of-three, eastern regional championship series for the first time in school history.

Rosewood ended its historic playoff run with a 20-4 overall record.

"My girls have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about," Rosewood head coach Shay Campbell said. "We set school records, made it to the fourth round of the playoffs for the first time ever and exceeded expectations."

After an hour rain delay, the Eagles drew first blood once both teams finally took the field. Laura Vinson drew a walk to lead off the third inning and moved to second on a sacrifice. Jordan Dubose plated Vinson with an RBI double to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Hobbton battled back in its half of the third and got a few breaks when Rosewood made three critical errors. Hannah Warren led off the inning with a single and Taylor Bowden reached on an Eagle miscue. Michaela Wilson plated both runners with a single and moved to second on an overthrow.

Rosewood tried to throw behind Wilson as she raced into second base, but the throw sailed into the outfield. Wilson raced home on the Eagles' third error of the inning and made the score 3-1.

"We lost a couple of games this season where errors put us in a hole and tonight was another example of that," Campbell said. "When you play a team that has made it this far in the playoffs, you can not give them extra chances."

Rosewood got one run back in the fourth inning when Vinson plated Anna Ingram with an RBI single.

The Eagles threatened again in the sixth with runners on second and third with no outs, but the rally stalled. Wildcat pitcher Gracie Olsen recorded a strikeout. Catcher Taylor Bowden picked a runner off at third base.

"I have to give Hobbton a lot of credit because they made plays," Campbell said. "They are the first team all season to beat us when we have scored first in the game."

Olsen picked up the win in the pitcher's circle with a complete-game effort. The junior recorded nine strikeouts on the night.

Amanda Beckert suffered the loss for Rosewood despite allowing just one earned run over six innings.