Topsail softball ousts CBA from 3A playoffs

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on May 25, 2015 1:51 PM

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From staff reports

TOPSAIL -- Topsail pushed across two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and upended defending eastern regional champion Charles B. Aycock, 6-5, on Friday evening.

The Pirates (20-6 overall) oppose Northern Guilford in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A eastern regional championship series.

"I think they played well, very proud of how they fought back," CBA head coach Emily Burke said. "We left a lot of people on base, made some base-running errors we normally don't make, squandered some opportunities to score.

"We came back and gave ourselves a chance to win, but couldn't hold it there at the end."

Topsail seized a 4-0 lead through three innings.

"Those hits were little bloops in "no-man's" land," Burke said. "When you take that and combine it with walks and let people get extra bases by not hitting your cutout, that stuff comes back to haunt you."

Aycock (14-9) pulled within to 4-3 in the top of the sixth and moved in front 5-4 in the top of the seventh. Hannah Vinson and Madison Walton each delivered key hits at that time, while Mackenzie Wheeler pressured the defense with her smart base running.

Vinson (RBI) and Keeley Fulghum paced Aycock's offense with two hits apiece. Walton provided one hit and two RBI. Wheeler and catcher Abbie Walton supplied one RBI apiece.

Burke loses no seniors.

"They'll be back next year," she said. "They've got a very good future in that program. These girls have come a long way since they were freshmen."