CREEDMORE — No. 1 seed South Granville belted seven hits and brought seven runners home in the first inning Wednesday en route to an 18-0 win over visiting West Bladen in the first round of the state’s Class 2-A East softball playoffs.
The loss end the No. 32 seed Lady Knights’ season at 11-13.
After West Bladen went quietly in the top of the first, the Lady Vikings sent 12 batters to the plate and used seven singles, three West Bladen errors and two stolen bases to score seven runs.
South Granville used a hit batter and two-run home run to open a 9-0 lead in the second, then added four runs in the third on a walk, two singles and a three-run home run for a 13-0 edge.
The Lady Vikings put the game away on the mercy rule in the bottom of the fourth, scoring five times behind four singles, two walks, a hit batter, an error, passed ball and wild pitch.
In all, South Granville rapped out 15 hits against West Bladen pitching.
The Lady Knights were limited to three hits — a single in the third inning by Kyla Reed and back-to-back singles by Carley Dawson and Madison Collins in the fourth. West Bladen loaded the bases in that fourth frame with two outs, but the rally fizzled fast.
South Granville pitching fanned nine against the Lady Knights.