Miranda Holmes pitches for Midway on Wednesday night.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Midway took a pair of varsity diamond wins over visiting East Central 2-A Conference foe Goldsboro on Wednesday, winning in both softball and baseball.
Solid defense led Midway to a 6-2 win over Goldsboro in softball, giving the Cougars their first conference loss of the season.
“We didn’t hit the ball as well as I’d like to,” said Midway softball coach Leigh Ann Smith. “I think the key to beating them is going to be pitch selection. Just making sure you’re swinging at the right pitches. We had some great plays defensively. We worked on bunt situations yesterday, because I felt like Goldsboro was going to come in here and bunt against us. We worked on it for 30-45 minutes yesterday.”
Sophomore Miranda Holmes pitched the complete game win for the Raiders (6-3, 4-1 ECC), giving up two earned runs on seven hits and two walks, with four strikeouts.
A pair of Sophomores led Midway at the plate. Jega Dapuyen was 3-for-3, with two runs scored and Bella Bryant had two hits, including a double, one RBI and one run scored.
“(Dapuyen) makes a big difference for us,” Smith said. “She’s fast. She’s a great bunter. She’s a great fielder. She makes a difference for us.”
Alyssa Wrench had a triple, two RBIs and a run scored. Holmes and Sydney Williams each had one hit and one RBI. J.J. Sankey and Caitlyn Holland each had one hit and one run scored. Chloe Baggett had one hit.
Junior Abby Allen had three hits, including a double and a triple, and one run scored to lead the Cougars (8-4, 5-1).
Midway got on the board in the bottom of the second inning when Bryant doubled and scored on a base hit from Holmes.
In the third, Holland had a base hit, advanced on an error and a Dapuyen hit and scored on a wild pitch. Wrench walked, stole second, took third on wild pitch that saw Dapuyen tagged out at the plate and scored on a base hit from Bryant.
Dapuyen singled in the fifth, advanced on a base hit from Baggett and scored on a base hit from Sydney Williams.
In the top of the sixth inning, Goldsboro loaded the bases with no outs, but Midway rallied to work out of the jam while giving up just one run.
In the bottom of the sixth, Sankey reached on an error and Dapuyen bunted for a base hit before Wrench tripled to score both.
Allen tripled with two out in the top of the seventh and scored on a base hit from Amber Pfennig, but a fly out to Williams, in right field, on the following at-bat ended the game.
Midway escaped with a 12-10 win in an offensive battle with Goldsboro in the baseball game to stay perfect on the season.
“We found a way to win,” said Midway baseball coach Jason Fussell. “They’ve got a gritty ball team. I’m proud of the guys for finding a way to win, but we’ve got to play better tomorrow night.”
Sophomore reliever Dawson Wiggins was the winning pitcher for the Raiders (11-0, 5-0). In two and two-thirds innings, he gave up three earned runs on five hits and three walks, with six strikeouts.
Senior Chandler Williford had two hits, including a double, and four RBIs and senior Carson Calcutt had two hits, including a double, one RBI and three runs scored to lead Midway offensively.
Eli Culbreth had one hit and one RBI. Brayden Coats, Cameron Barefoot and Cameron Calcutt each had one hit and two runs scored. Drew Matthews had one hit. Cal Tyndall had three runs scored.
Senior Brody Morton had two hits, two RBIs and one run scored and sophomore Peyton Wilkins had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs to lead the Cougars (6-6, 3-3).
Both teams scored four runs in the third inning before Midway took the lead with four more in the bottom of the fourth. Both teams scored three runs in the fifth and one in the sixth. Goldsboro scored two more runs in the top of the seventh, but could not complete the rally.
Midway is at home against conference foe East Duplin on Thursday.
Midway shortstop Caitlyn Holland applies a tag for an out.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Bella Bryant delivers a run-scoring hit for the Raiders.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Alyssa Wrench of Midway connects for a 2-run triple.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Cameron Barefoot of the Raiders gets aboard with a bunt.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Drew Matthews gets a hit for the Raiders on Wednesday night.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Carson Calcutt drills an RBI double in a 12-10 win over Goldsboro.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
