Mount Holly – Another Murphy softball season came to an end Friday, when the Lady Bulldogs fell to Mountain Island Charter 7-3 in the third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A playoffs.
The Lady Bulldogs finished 2021 with a 14-2 record overall, falling only to the Raptors and Smoky Mountain Conference rival Robbinsville.
“Our girls battled hard,” Murphy softball head coach Thomas Nelson said. “We’re the only team they hadn’t run-ruled all year.”
After winning on the road at Chatham Charter and beating South Stokes at home, Nelson knew his team would have their hands full with Mountain Island Charter. Entering Friday’s game, the Raptors (15-0) outscored their opponents 197-16.
They also play on an Astroturf field, which is an adjustment if you play on natural grass. The ball takes different hops compared to natural grass, and players have to wear turf shoes compared to their usual cleats.
Nelson thought that led to some struggles for his team early, as Mountain Island Charter scored three runs in the first inning. But the Lady Bulldogs battled back, eventually tying the game at 3 in the fifth inning. It didn’t stay tied for long though, as the Raptors scored one in the bottom of the fifth and three in the bottom of the sixth to advance to the Western Regional championship.
Despite having just three seniors, this was the first time Murphy softball has made the Elite Eight since 2011. There was one less round in the playoffs this year, so the Lady Bulldogs only had to win three games to make it to the eight compared to the usual four.
The three seniors – Annie Kate Dalton, Grace Nelson and Kaiya Pickens – set the tone both on and off the field. They batted 1-2-3 (Nelson, Pickens, Dalton) and were Murphy’s best hitters.
Nelson batted .543, drove in seven runs and stole 21 bases. Pickens batted .558 with 22 RBI. Dalton was the top hitter of the trio, batting .627 with nine home runs and 42 RBI.
Off the field, they kept the team together and made sure everyone was focused on the same goals.
“The seniors did a phenomenal job of not letting small cliques get formed,” Nelson said. “When you have a young team, those are things that tend to come back and cause issues.”
Though there are big shoes to fill, the future still looks bright for Murphy softball. Several underclassmen stepped up to play major roles this season, and the rest of the starting lineup was composed of freshman and sophomores.
Sophomore Jersey Schwalm pitched all but one inning this year and got more comfortable as the season went along. Outside of the Lady Bulldogs’ big three, sophomores Riley Dockery, Ainsley Hogsed and freshman Maddison Seabolt were the most consistent hitters, while freshman Sanai Wilson worked her way into the lineup as the season went along.
“You have a lot of really good kids coming back if those kids will work,” Nelson said. “You have to work out, you have to run, you have to put yourself in position to be good if you want to be good and you have to earn that.”