RALEIGH Chelsea Leonard of Central Davidson was named the
Most Valuable Player for the third consecutive year as she led her team
to
to
the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 2-A
softball
softball
championship at Walnut Creek Softball Complex on Saturday night.
Leonard, who missed most of the season due to an injury
and entered the state championships with just a 4-0 pitching mark, fired
a
a
one-hitter in the championship game and fanned 19 as Central blanked
Richlands 1-0.
On Friday Leonard had pitched a pair of complete game shutouts,
yielding
yielding
only two hits and fanning a whopping 37, including a no-hitter
against
against
Richlands in which she fanned 19.
Central Davidson pushed the only run of the game across
against Richlands hurler Mikayla Jarman in the bottom of the fifth.
Kara
Kara
Lohr singled, advanced to second on a walk to Nicole Perry, and then
both
both
runners moved up on a sacrifice bunt. Carly Tysinger then delivered a
single
single
to left to score Lohr with the game№s lone run.
Courtnie Whaley, the second batter in the game for
Richlands, got an infield hit in the top of the first but she was the
only
only
Wildcat to hit safely.
Central Davidson finished the year with a 21-7 mark in
winning its third consecutive state title. Richlands went 28-3 with
two
two
losses to Central in the state tournament.
Earlier on Saturday evening, Richlands advanced to the
championship game with its second victory of the tournament over West
Stokes, this time by 3-1. Richlands had beaten West 5-2 in a Friday
game.
game.
Jarman got the victory for Richlands, striking out four
and scattering five hits, while Chancey Stone got the loss despite
allowing
allowing
just four hits.
West Stokes took a 1-0 lead in the first but Richlands
tied it in the third and then scored two in the sixth. Taylor Cloninger
had
had
a pair of hits, including a solo home run, and drove in two of the
three
three
Richlands runs in the battle of a pair of Wildcat teams.
Brianna Bratcher had two hits in three at bats for West
Stokes, which ended its season 22-8.
The Raleigh Sports Consortium and the Greater Raleigh
Convention and Visitors Bureau are among the host city sponsors for
the
the
championships.
2009 STATE 2-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
WALNUT CREEK SOFTBALL COMPLEX, RALEIGH
STATE SEMIFINALS
Richlands 5, West Stokes 2
Central Davidson 8, Black Mountain Charles D. Owen 0
WINNER№S BRACKET FINAL
Central Davidson 3, Richlands 0
ELIMINATION GAME
West Stokes 4, Charles D. Owen 3
LOSER№S BRACKET FINAL
Richlands 3, West Stokes 1
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Central Davidson 1, Richlands 0
