Murphy – After defeating Uwharrie Charter in the third round of the state 1A playoffs, the Lady Bulldogs’ softball team fell in the fourth round to No. 1-seeded Union Academy on Friday.
The No. 12 seed Lady Dogs traveled to Asheboro to face No. 4 seed Uwharrie Charter on May 14 after the game originally scheduled for May 13 was rained out.
Murphy took an early lead with two runs in the first inning. They followed it up with four more runs in the second inning to give the Lady Dogs a 6-0 lead.
In the third inning, Uwharrie Charter followed suit and scored two runs. They scored four more in the fourth inning to tie the game.
The game remained tied as they played through the typical length of seven innings. It wasn’t until the top of the 10th inning that the Lady Dogs broke through with three runs to take the lead and put pressure on the home team.
Murphy’s defense came up huge and shut down Uwharrie Charter in the bottom of the 10th to win the game.
Lady Dogs pitcher Paisley Johnson faced 46 batters and allowed six runs on nine hits. She walked five batters and struck out four in her 151-pitch game.
It was a multi-run night for four Lady Dogs, led by Johnson who had three runs. Julia Dockery, Gracie Moore and Emma Laney had two runs each.
Aiden Smith had four RBI to help the team win. The Lady Dogs combined for six stolen bases, led by Dockery with two. Smith, Johnson, Laney and Piper Dalton had one stolen base each.
The win extended their winning streak to six games dating back to their win over Hayesville on April 29.
The round-three game was longer than Uwharrie Charter’s first- and second-round games combined. Heading into the game, Uwharrie had scored 33 runs combined in the first two rounds and only allowed five runs scored against them – until they met the Lady Dogs.
The Lady Dogs then traveled to Monroe on Friday for a fourth-round matchup with No. 1 seed Union Academy.
Union started the game with runs in the first four innings to build a large lead. The team opened with two runs in the first inning, then one more in the second to lead 3-0.
Union had its highest scoring inning in the third with four runs to lead 7-0. In the fourth inning, the team added two more runs to take a 9-0 lead. The final three innings of the game were scoreless as Union Academy went on to win and advance in the playoffs.
The Lady Bulldogs ended the season with a 16-8 overall record and were the only Smoky Mountain Conference team to make it to the fourth round of the playoffs