Weddington walks off D.H. Conley to take G1 in 7A softball championship series

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Even in extra innings, Weddington found their way at an opportune time.

Thanks to great pitching from Lenoir-Rhyne commit Joella Thomas and a walk-off RBI single from Lilly White, the Warriors prevailed 1-0 over D.H. Conley in an eight-inning Game 1 of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 7A softball championship series.

As the matchup went on, each squad knew that one swing, error, or pitch could change the momentum of the contest. There were nerves early as each team committed a couple of errors, but the Vikings and Warriors showed toughness.

Conley’s Kendall Howard and Weddington’s Joella Thomas didn’t give an inch in the circle over the first five innings. Despite each pitcher being in multiple jams, they both managed to battle back to keep the series opener scoreless.

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A one-out walk and steal of second by Callie Hill set the Warriors up with a chance to break the tie in the bottom of the fifth. However, Howard continued to show why she’s committed to UNC-Wilmington by recording back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.

With the game still tied going to the seventh inning, Conley's Ava Gaddis led off with a single to left. She then stole second base in quick succession to give the Vikings their biggest chance to score of the game.

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Despite Thomas recording a pair of outs for Weddington, Gaddis was able to steal third leaving Conley 60 feet from scoring. Thomas was once again up to the task getting another strikeout to give Weddington a chance to walk off the opening contest of the series.

Despite a two-out double from Grayson Bopp, Howard worked around it with a fly out to send the game to extra innings.

Following a 1-2-3 eighth inning, Charlotte recruit Reece Lindsay was hit by a pitch with two-outs. That led to White sneaking a base hit down the third base line to end the contest.

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The Warriors (26-0) and Vikings (25-3) will play game two Thursday at UNC-Greensboro with Conley as the designated home team.

Before the game, both sides announced their sportsmanship award winners: Weddington's Ella Austin and Conley's Casey Mendell.

Box Score

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