Hiwassee Dam – It was a busy week for Hiwassee Dam softball, but all roads led to a Saturday clash with Robbinsville. An 8-7 Lady Eagles’ win over the Lady Knights on April 25 snapped Robbinsville’s 32-game win streak against conference foes, and put both teams even in the conference loss column at one apiece.
Both teams won their remaining conference games, setting up a showdown for the conference championship at Hiwassee Dam. After getting the Lady Knight monkey off their back in the first meeting between the two teams, the Lady Eagles couldn’t complete the season sweep, falling short of the conference title with a 6-1 loss.
Hiwassee Dam (12-6 overall, 10-2 conference) got timely hits against Robbinsville’s Memory Frapp in the first meeting, but couldn’t do the same in this game. The junior gave up just four hits and struck out 11 in a complete game win. Meanwhile, the Lady Knights (17-4, 11-1) did exactly what they needed to on offense, scoring two in the top of the third, then one in the fifth and sixth and two in the seventh, while Hiwassee Dam scored just once in the bottom of the sixth.
Pitching her fourth game this week compared to a third for Frapp, Lady Eagles ace Olivia McNabb battled but wasn’t quite as sharp, giving up five hits and walking five to go along with nine strikeouts. It was the Lady Knights’ sixth straight conference championship, and the second straight year they clinched on Hiwassee Dam’s field.
It was a tough end to what had been an excellent week for the Lady Eagles before that game. They started on May 1 with a 2-0 win over Swain County, with a two-run homer from Allison Stiles making the difference. McNabb was also stellar in the circle, scattering five hits and striking out 11 in a complete game shutout.
Hiwassee Dam also picked up two wins over Cherokee, knocking off the Lady Braves 12-1 on May 2 and 9-2 on May 4. The first win over Cherokee came on senior day, with all three seniors playing a part in the win. Kiera Taylor led off the first with a triple and later scored the first of four Lady Eagles runs in the inning, Payton McNabb had an RBI double in the third, while Stiles hit her sixth homer of the year and drove in five runs.
But Olivia McNabb as a sophomore upstaged all three seniors, hitting two home runs, including one in the bottom of the sixth to send the game into mercy rule territory. Cherokee had chances to make the score closer throughout, but Hiwassee Dam made some heads-up defensive plays to limit them to one run.
“I’m seeing a confidence in our defense where they’re willing to take chances to go after balls that before they were questioning,” head coach Roger Adams said. “Now they’re, no, I can make that play, and they’re making the plays and building a lot more confidence in themselves, and it’s showing out on the field.”
Hiwassee Dam controlled the rematch two days later, pounding out 15 hits in a 9-2 win. Stiles hit her sixth homer of the season, while Olivia McNabb scattered eights hits and struck out eight across seven innings in another complete game.
Despite the loss to Robbinsville, the Lady Eagles are the No. 14 seed in the state playoffs and hosted No. 19 seed Elkin in the first round of the state playoffs Tuesday. The Lady Knights are the No. 3 seed in the bracket, so there’s the potential for a rematch if the two teams do their part. The rubber match between the two teams would happen in the same exact round as last year, when Robbinsville ended Hiwassee Dam’s season with an 11-1 loss.