Cape Fear Christian Academy’s varsity softball team bided its time in the NCISAA Division 3 playoffs but in the end the Eagles had an accomplishment worth waiting for, a state championship among 1-A teams.

The semifinals against Ridgecroft were delayed for 48 hours by rain before the Eagles advanced with a 7-1 win at Campbell on Thursday evening.

A snafu in the umpire assignments on Tuesday had the teams and fans killing time for an hour beyond the scheduled 3 p.m. start at N.C. Wesleyan’s Edge Field in Rocky Mount.

Top-seeded CFCA (12-1) completed a sweep of second-seeded Lawrence (20-16) about 10 minutes before sunset at the lightless facility by scores of 3-2 and 6-5.

Better late than never as a loaded Eagles team in 2020 ascertained when COVID resulted in the cancellation of the season for the defending state champions at that time.

The Warriors brought the potential winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh in the second game Tuesday before Gardner-Webb signee Glenna McLamb induced a ground ball to shortstop Megan Harrold, who threw to first baseman Hailey Dupree for the final out.

The outcome assured the Eagles of the Wells Fargo Cup for overall athletic performance in the NCISAA 1-A class for 2024-25. CFCA also won state titles in girls golf and girls tennis in the fall. David Flowers of the NCISAA verified the Wells Fargo results Tuesday.

CFCA’s ninth state championship in softball lifted the Eagles to their first WF Cup.

School officials began getting sizes Wednesday for the third set of state championship rings this school year.

After losing at Lawrence, 2-1, in the softball quarterfinals of the combined 1-A and 2-A playoffs in 2024, the Eagles posted three wins over the Warriors this season, including a 3-1 road conquest on March 11.

CFCA’s only loss in 2025 was 7-6 in eight innings at High Point Christian on May 1 at Wallburg Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. The Cougars went on to win their fourth straight state championship with a sweep of Freedom in Division II (classes 2-A and 3-A). The Eagles ended host Freedom’s 36-game winning streak, 5-3, on March 28.

The Eagles never trailed on Tuesday. Seniors McLamb and Larah Tripp had back-to-back doubles for a 1-0 advantage in the second inning of the first game. Freshman Caylee Braswell had a 2-run single in the fifth that brought in Hailey Dupree and Sailor Phillips.

McLamb and Tripp each had two hits in the first game. Fellow senior Hailey Wangelin, who caught 14 innings in the championship series, also had a hit.

Dupree had a single as CFCA outhit Lawrence, 7-3, in the first game. The Eagles also had more hits in the second game, 12-9.

CFCA was designated the visiting team in the second contest and Harrold hit the first pitch of the game for a double to set the tone.

Harrold has some state championship history. She drew a bases-loaded walk as a seventh grader with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 7-6 victory in the third and deciding game of the title series with Pungo at CFCA. She fouled off nine pitches before watching a delivery sail high and outside.

That was in 2022, the last time the Eagles won a state crown in softball. Harrold made an uncharacteristic throwing error to first on Tuesday but was subsequently flawless in the field, including an amazing back-handed diving catch of a foul pop. That play was rivaled on the highlight scale by a diving stop at third by Kristina Kennedy, who threw to first from her knees with Dupree making a stretching pick-up for an out.

Harrold had four hits and scored twice in the second game Tuesday. The Eagles scored twice in the first and three times in the second for a lead that allowed Coach Tommy McLamb an opportunity to spell his daughter, Glenna, in the circle.

A run in the fifth provided a 6-4 lead and that was big as the Warriors tallied once in the seventh.

Kennedy, who has committed to George Mason, had three hits and two RBIs in the last game of her junior season. She surpassed 100 hits for her CFCA career. Wangelin had two hits and two RBIs in the finale. Finley Phillips had a hit and an RBI. Dupree had an RBI. McLamb scored a run in the second game. Tripp had her second double of the day. Sailor Phillips had a hit and scored a run.

McLamb allowed four hits in five-plus innings in the second game with two runs (both earned), three walks and four strikeouts. She went to second base while Finley Phillips came in to pitch. McLamb appeared revived when she came back to pitch.’

McLamb, who transferred from Midway after her freshman year, went all seven innings in the first game with three hits, no earned runs, two walks and 12 strikeouts.

“Proud of how our kids fought together until the end,” said Coach McLamb. “Glenna threw over 200 pitches for both games. Our defense was stellar and offense was solid all day.”

CFCA played a schedule limited by some cancellations due to weather and the fact that no other teams in the Mid-Carolina Conference played softball. A number of potential opponents declined to schedule.

The Eagles were generally at their best when they did play with an arsenal that included timely hitting, shutdown pitching, consistent defense and a unified mindset — a visible testimony to excellent coaching and a standard of play that has become a tradition in softball at the school.