Carolina 1-A Conference softball

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 26, 2015 1:44 PM

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The chase for the Carolina 1-A Conference softball championship has become a four-horse race.

Pretty soon, it's going to be a winner-take-all affair.

At least, that seems to be the case with just 14 days left in the regular season. Defending champ Princeton, Spring Creek, North Duplin and Rosewood each have a legitimate chance at snagging that all-important No. 1 seed for the postseason.

The fewer the losses, the better your position.

"There's not another game that we play that's not an important ballgame," said SC head coach Lester Boltinhouse. "Every game, to me, is an important ballgame. From here on out, every game is a critical game."

The league has raised its competitive level over the last two years. It's no longer the annual battle between Princeton and Rosewood that normally decides the conference champ.

You can't look past either North Duplin or Spring Creek.

The Rebels handed Princeton its first conference loss since 2012. The Gators defeated Rosewood, 8-3, on Wednesday and nearly defeated the Bulldogs a month ago.

They still have to play each other again.

"Everybody is fighting for a playoff spot, looking for seeding to see who is going where," RHS head coach Shay Campbell said. "I don't see us, at this point, right now being No. 1 in the conference. Is it possible? It depends on what happens with the other teams, and how we come out and respond.

"I do think there are opportunities for us as a second or third seed."

Rosewood's conference losses have occurred against North Duplin and Spring Creek. The Eagles are completing a suspended game against Princeton on Monday.

Another defeat could cause further damage for the youngest team that Campbell has put on the diamond since he arrived at Rosewood.

Campbell is anxious to see how it will play out.

We all are.

Meanwhile, Campbell University signee Rachel McCollum leads the conference in five categories -- hitting percentage (.792), home runs (8), slugging percentage (2.000), RBI (30) and on-base percentage (.861).

McCollum, North Duplin's Rylee Pate and Princeton's Hailey Wood each have five victories inside the circle. McCollum has tossed two shutouts and five complete games in seven total appearances.

Pate leads the league in strikeouts with 64.

North Duplin, undoubtedly, has the conference's top defense. The Rebels have yielded just three runs -- all to Rosewood -- in conference play. They've shut out six opponents and are 1-1 overall in games decided by one run.

(Editor's note: These are statistics researched through Maxpreps.com, but have not been updated through this Friday's games.)