Golden Falcons remain unbeaten on ECC 3A-4A softball scene

By Brandon Davis
Published in Sports on April 27, 2016 1:49 PM

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bdavis@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- Charles B. Aycock senior pitcher Allie Phillips entered the fifth inning -- up three runs with the bases loaded -- and closed out the game with six strikeouts and no hits.

"They (teammates) tell me God is beside me all the time," Phillips said, who helped lead the Golden Falcons to a 6-3 victory over Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference foe South Central on Tuesday evening.

"So, I felt it was going to help me get through the inning. My catcher always tells me that she has my back, so I knew right then that my defense has got me through it all," Phillips said.

"I thought Allie came in and did a fantastic job of throwing the ball over the plate," CBA head coach Lavon Matthews said.

The Golden Falcons jumped to a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when senior Madison Walton brought in junior Connor Vinson.

Junior Allison Shingleton then took the mound for the Golden Falcons and threw two strikeouts and allowed no runs.

CBA continued its run streak.

Junior Mackenzie Wheeler knocked the ball to center field and sent home sophomore Taylor Puetz and junior Taylor Waddell. Vinson followed suit and brought in Wheeler and junior "Mookie" Powell. Sophomore Hannah Vinson launched the ball to left field and the Golden Falcons soared to a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.

Shingleton pitched low, but couldn't get any strikes called. South Central took advantage of the walks and pulled to within 6-3.

Matthews walked to the pitcher's mound in the fifth inning.

Phillips put on her mask and looked at the SC runners who occupied the bases. She wound her arm, let out a grunt and threw a strikeout. She then fired the ball to her catcher, but the South Central hitter sent up a pop fly. Phillips turned up her glove and made the catch for the third out.

Both teams remained scoreless throughout the rest of the game, but Phillips stood before another challenge at the top of the seventh inning -- the left-hander allowed two walks.

Matthews took another stroll to the mound.

Phillips threw her final pitch and final strikeout.

"He (Matthews) said, 'Just throw strikeouts'," Phillips said.

"It seemed like, Allison, she was not getting a response," Matthews said. "She was walking batters. If I'm going to lose a ball game, I'm going to lose it at bat. I'm not going to walk runners in.

"So, I felt like Allison is probably the best strike pitcher I got, but she wasn't getting the calls that she normally gets. I'm not blaming it on our umpire tonight because he was consistent. I don't know if she was frustrated. I'm not making excuses for her, but you can't be on top of your game every night."

The Golden Falcons (20-1 overall, 9-0 ECC) travel to New Bern on Friday.