Central, seniors rise to the occasion

by John Lucas | Apr 24, 2019 | Harnett Central

Kylee Frailey drives in a pair of runs for Central.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)

Harnett Central claimed sole possession of first place in the Tri-County Six 3-A Conference softball standings with a 6-1 Senior Night win over visiting Harnett County rival Triton on Tuesday.

“Yesterday at practice, we stressed to them how much we wanted them to enjoy Senior Night,” said Harnett Central coach Chelsey Cabe. “But until this game was over, their main focus should be us fighting for a championship and how important the game was. They worked hard, not only for a memory for Senior Night, but to be a team. You’ve got eight seniors out there. How could they not be one at this point and not like a real family?”

“They knew how important this game was,” said Harnett Central assistant Ashlee Crewe. “They came out with the fire they need to come out with every game. But a rivalry always gets you a little more pumped up than everything else. They came out and set the tone early and kind of kept the momentum from there. They beat a very good team tonight.”

Triton coach Mark Whitman said a lack of offense was the key factor in the loss.

“They set the tone,” Whitman said. “They kind of got in our heads a little bit, I believe. They wanted it more than we did. They hit the ball. Gracyn (Slaughter) pitched good enough to win. We just didn’t hit the ball. Bottom line. They came out and jumped on us right to begin with and we couldn’t recover from it.”

Senior Fallon Wimberly went the distance in the circle to take the win for the Trojan (7-5, 7-1 TCSC), giving up no earned runs on four hits and one walk, with seven strikeouts.

“She stayed within herself,” said Harnett Central assistant (and pitching coach) Olivia Scarborough. “She didn’t try to do too much. I told her before the game, ‘Count your outs. Each pitch during the game, we’re going to be in the moment of each pitch.’ She did a great job.”

“Fallon’s had our number,” Whitman said. “Every time she pitches against us, she’s got our number.”

Senior Kylee Frailey led Central at the plate with three hits, including two doubles, four RBIs and one run scored.

“She stepped it up,” Crewe said. “A lot of them are turning it up at the right time and she is definitely one of them.”

Kolby Medlin had two hits and one RBI. Amaya Bell had two hits and two runs scored. Lyndsey Brewer had one hit and one RBI. Laurie Blackwell had a double and a run scored. Mikaela Goss had one hit and one run scored. Wimberly and Ansley Lee had one hit apiece.

Brittany Ireland had one hit and one RBI, Alexis Howard had a double and a run scored and Tatiana Muniz and Ella Layn had one hit apiece for the Hawks (11-4, 6-2).

Prior to the game, Harnett Central honored eight seniors: Kylee Frailey, Fallon Wimberly, Amaya Bell, Lyndsey Brewer, Marcayla Jones, Ansley Lee, Kolby Medlin and Shelbie Gill.

Blackwell and Frailey set the tone early for Central, leading off the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back doubles down the third base line, with Blackwell scoring on Frailey’s.

“When those two can come back-to-back and do something special, it really gives us the momentum, it feels like,” Crewe said. “And we really take that and run with it and tonight we got to keep it.”

Frailey tagged up to take third on a Wimberly fly out, Lee walked and Medlin singled to score Frailey and move Lee to third. Lee scored on a sacrifice fly from Brewer.

Central added two more runs in the fourth. Goss and Bell singled to lead off and advanced on a Gill sacrifice before scoring on a base hit from Frailey.

Triton got on the board in the top of the sixth when Howard doubled and scored when Ireland reached on an error.

Also in the top of the sixth, Triton senior Tatiana Muniz left the game after suffering an apparent injury to her knee.

Bell singled to lead off the bottom of the sixth, advanced on an error and a ground ball from Jessie Dillon and scored on a double from Frailey.

Harnett Central hosts county and conference rival Western Harnett on Wednesday for a make-up game from April 12. A win guarantees at least a share of the regular season championship for the Trojans.

“We did tell them, ‘You can’t get complacent,’” Cabe said. “There’s a lot more softball to be played and we want to put ourselves in the best position possible for the state playoffs. And that means we need to win out in conference and the tournament. So, we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Triton hosts Harnett Central for Senior Night on Thursday and travels to Union Pines for a make-up game from April 12 on Saturday. The Hawks can still take a share of the conference title, but have to win both games.

“We’re not out of it,” Whitman said. “We’ve got more pressure on us now, but we’re not out of it. We’ve got to win Thursday and win Saturday and we’re co-champions. But if they don’t come out wanting it, we could easily go from co-champions to third. Hopefully we’ll have a good practice tomorrow, we’ll regroup and get things back in order and maybe a different outcome on Thursday.”

Central seniors are, from left, Marcayla Jones, Fallon Wimberly, Ansley Lee, Kolby Medlin, Lyndsey Brewer, Shelbie Gill, Amaya Bell and Kylee Frailey.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)