The NC varsity Lady Warriors defeated the Campbell Lady Spartans September 9 with a score of 11 to 7.  The game started with an electrifying first inning in which the Warriors scored two runs. Junior Bailey Brumley, second baseman, hit a line drive single out to left field while freshman  Aubrey King, center fielder,  followed with a double to center field. On the defensive end, the Spartans struggled to keep up with NC’s energy on the field. Campbell missed a numerous amount of tags and overthrew to bases a total of 4 times in the first half. In the second half of the inning, the first batter for Campbell put up a good fight at the plate, but her efforts got cut short when junior Bailey Brumley caught the line drive hit directly to her. The inning ended in two easy strikeouts and both teams prepared for the rest of the game. 

“I’m proud of the way we played today. Of course, we had a few hiccups, but we made good recoveries each time,” junior Hailey Tollison said

In the second inning, the NC offense did not get off to a good start at the plate. The Spartan’s starting pitcher walked two people, while the Warriors failed to capitalize, fouling out and hitting shallow popups that the Campbell defense caught quickly. For the remainder of the inning, the Spartans almost matched what happened in the first half. By the next inning, NC regained their energy and made major hits. Senior Kendall Minard, shortstop, hit the ball to the fence sending in four more runs. This pushed the score to 4 to 0, but the Spartans never faded. In the next half, the Warriors made minor mistakes. As a result, the Spartans capitalized off of those mistakes and scored 4 runs in that half. 

“I really do enjoy leading these girls and showing them that sometimes making mistakes is okay and you can learn from them,” senior Kendall Minard said.

With the score all tied up at four apiece, both teams faced adversity and tough calls that stopped the game for over 5 minutes. A bobbled ball at first base caused a large amount of anger on both sides. Following that, missed tag,s overthrows and missed calls from both sides caused more tension between the teams. Eventually, the game swayed NC’s way, having scored five runs, while Campbell only scored one. 

In the sixth and seventh inning, the Warriors hit shallow popups caught by the other team and struck out, making no scoring progress. However, the Spartans scored three more runs, making the Warriors strengthen their defense to stop extra runs. The game ended with a double play from second to first base, bringing the final score to 11 to 7. Tomorrow night the lady warriors face against Walton on their senior night at home starting at 7 pm.

“The girls continue to get better and learn something new from each game. They all have their individual specialties that make the team chemistry on the field so good,” spectator Rose Smith said.