SOUTHPORT — East Columbus defeated Bladen County for an 11-10 victory in the Dixie Ponytails Softball State Tournament on Sunday. East Columbus rallied back from being down 8-6 in the fifth inning to survive elimination and keep their title hopes alive. Bladen County lost a game earlier to South Brunswick on the day that would place them in the losers bracket.
The evening started off positive for Bladen County as they took a 2-0 lead in their half of the second inning. Bladen County’s Bristol Allen slapped a single that allowed the two runners ahead of her to round the bases for two scores. East Columbus took their licks and responded with two of their own at the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 2-2.
Bladen County kept the momentum in their hands by extending their lead to 6-2 before the end of their half of the third inning. Chloe Walters, Maycee Kinlaw, Brissa Matheson, and Kenly Smeigh were the runners responsible for crossing the plate to put Bladen up on the scoreboard. East Columbus refused to go away and brought the game within one run after trimming the score to 6-5.
Bladen County was able to draw walks to load the bases in the fourth inning before tacking on two more runs to make the game 8-5. East Columbus shook off the mistakes made and was able to cut their opponent’s lead going into the fifth. Bladen County suffered self-inflicted wounds after five hits and two errors allowed their opponents back into the game.
Bladen County added their last two runs at the top of the sixth but East Columbus did just enough to edge out their opponents to fight another day. Allen led the Bladen County lineup with a 2-for-3 performance and she finished the day with four RBIs. Sleigh went 2-for-2 in the batter’s box and scored twice in her team’s loss. Kinlaw took to the center circle for a complete game and struck out seven batters.