On August 30th, at 7:40 p.m., the NC-McEachern Varsity Softball game abruptly ended in the fourth inning. A softball game often lasts seven innings, but the game ended sooner. The reason? NC brutally beat McEachern, running up an eight point lead before the top of the third inning. By the bottom of the fourth, the officials called the game: NC won 13-1.

After the first two batters striking out, McEachern’s Morgan Green hit the first single of the game. Despite multiple hits in the first inning, McEachern scored only one run. NC started stronger, with sophomore Angela Cecere hitting the first ball she saw, turning it into a double.

After a somewhat lackluster first inning for both teams, NC exploded into action in the second. At the top of the inning, freshman Kathryn Bywaters made the first major play of the game, bringing in all runners, including her, with an inside-the-park grand slam. McEachern never caught up, clinging on to their one run from the first inning the entire game. By the bottom of the second, NC’s mounted a nearly insurmountable lead, besting McEachern 9-1.

For McEachern, the rest of the game proceeded like a slow train crash. The Warriors racked up run after run, scoring twice during the third inning and twice more during the fourth. The only unexpected moment came when NC #9 Iman Muhammad tried to steal third, overshot, and the Indian defense almost tagged her out. Muhammad returned to third only to overshoot again and have McEachern tag her out after a fifteen-second tag-team effort.

Despite McEachern momentarily regaining hope after the slight disruption, the slow machine of athletic superiority ruthlessly crushed any optimism they still clung on to. NC led by twelve runs — an insurmountable advantage. The referees agreed and called the game at the bottom of the fourth with a final score 13-1.

“We’ve been kind of on a losing streak recently, so it was really good to get the win, and bring our record up to three and five,” senior Julie Sanderlin said. “It felt really good to win, especially by that huge a margin. We were all just really proud to get that many runs in. We didn’t get all of those runs off of walks, we got those off of earned hits.”

NC needed a win to face their rivals Kennesaw Mountain, proving them on equal footing. In a sport where a 6-7 victory typifies a competitive score, NC’s victory certainly proved their merit, blowing their rivals out of the water in the process.

“This was a good game. [No,] it wasn’t good, it was great! We won because everyone on this team knows how to work together as a team, [play] together, as a team, communicate, as a team,” freshman Kaila Solomon, NC softball manager, said.