Providence survives late rally to take G1 over Corinth Holders in 8A softball series

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Small ball, execution at the plate and in the circle were the recipe for Providence softball's success on Wednesday.

The Panthers did just enough to get over the line halting a Corinth Holders rally to prevail 2-1 in Game 1 of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 8A softball state championship series.

Both starting pitchers, Corinth Holders’ Izzy West and Providence’s Sophie Strugar, worked around a walk in a scoreless opening inning. Strugar gave up the first hit of the evening to West in the top of the second, but battled back to keep the game tied.

Then, it was the Panthers sophomore's time to shine at the plate.

Strugar's solo home run over the left field fence opened the scoring for the western regional champions.

Live 2026 NCHSAA softball playoff brackets

Back-to-back singles by Ava Marks and Savannah Goddard had the Pirates in position to answer quickly. Struger showed toughness in the circle recording three straight outs to retire the side.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Panthers doubled their advantage as Casey Tomljonavic ripped an RBI single to center brining Katherine Joiner in from second. After a passed ball moved all base runners up a bag, Corinth Holders intentionally walked the bases loaded with two outs.

HSOT Insiders can download championship photos for free. Here's how.

West responded by forcing a pop out to end the fourth inning with the Panthers stranding three. Providence responded with some excellent defense in the top of the fifth.

Pirates infielder Ava Marks hit a triple to center, but was tagged out overrunning third base. A pair of nice throws by Phoenix Scott and Camryn O’Connor along with a good tag by Emeilia Zeng kept Corinth Holders at bay.

With one final chance in the top of the seventh, Kendyl Bledsoe gave the Pirates an early base runner thanks to a leadoff double. Then, the finally got on the board with a Morgan Reason RBI single to cut the deficit in half.

However, as she’s done throughout the postseason, Strugar rose to the occasion.

Three consecutive outs stranded Pirates base runners at first and second to close the evening.

Start times revealed for NCHSAA baseball, softball, lacrosse, & girls soccer state championships

Providence (29-2) and Corinth Holders (25-2) will do battle again in game two on Thursday at UNC Greensboro. The Pirates will be the designated home team for this game with the deciding game three to follow if the east regional champions win game two.

Before the game, both teams honored their sportsmanship award winners: Corinth Holders' Ella Searer and Providence's Brooke Hollywood.

Box Score

Want to get your high school sports news faster? Download the new and improved HighSchoolOT app! You'll be able to find the content you want faster and have access to breaking news alerts.

Download the all-new HighSchoolOT App today

More On This:

HSOT Insiders: Download spring state championship photos for FREE

Download the all-new HighSchoolOT App today