Robbinsville's first softball championship comes with sweep of Bear Grass Charter in 1A series

DURHAM, N.C. — A first-ever appearance in a softball state championship proved rewarding to Robbinsville as the team claimed the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A state championship on Saturday.

The Black Knights took an 8-3 win over the Bear Grass Charter Bears at Smith Family Stadium held at Duke University.

“First, the crowd was amazing, it was a long way down here and can’t say enough about our fans and community. It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work that the kids have put in for a long time. This has been their goal since they were eight so it’s very fulfilling to see them finish a job that they started a long time ago,” Robbinsville head coach Billy Knight said.

The Black Knights completed the state championship season with a series sweep after claiming game one 10-0 and finish their state championship season with a 27-2 record. As for Bear Grass Charter they fall short in their state championship bid with a 24-5 record.

“Pretty exciting, first time ever and it’s very exciting,” Robbinsville freshman Ella Nelms said. “It’s amazing and I’m really happy.”

Nelms was named MVP of the series. She went the distance for the Black Knights in the circle pitching all seven innings allowing three runs on six hits, giving up for three walks while striking out nine batters. Carolina Jenkins got the start for the Bears and went 3.1 innings allowing four runs on four hits while walking one and striking out one batter.

“In the circle she’s a dawg and she just attacks in the circle, she trust the girls behind her to make plays and she’s still not all the way back from an injury earlier in the year and for her to come out here today and throw like she did, to beat a very good Bear Grass Charter team I was super proud of her,” Knight said.

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The defenses for both sides came to play early. Both offenses were held scoreless through three innings of action. Robbinsville came close to scoring a run in the top of the third, however the Bears prevented that on a fielder’s choice where a Black Knights runner was thrown out at home keeping the game scoreless heading into the fourth.

The scoreless drought ended in the top of the fourth when Sophie Roberts sent one into the center field gap on an RBI single that brought a Black Knights runner around to score to make it 1-0. Anna Williams induced a bases loaded walk to go up 2-0. Ella Atwell followed up with an RBI single to center to give Robbinsville the 3-0 lead. The Black Knights capped off the four run inning with a Suri Watty RBI single to make it 4-0.

Still holding the Bears scoreless through five innings, the Black Knights added on in the sixth with a Williams RBI triple and a Khaygan Buchanan sacrifice fly added on for Robbinsville and gave them the 6-0 lead.

• View Photos: Bear Grass Charter vs. Robbinsville, Game 2 (May 30, 2026). HSOT Insiders can download championship photos for free. Here's how.

Bear Grass Charter managed to get some offense going with an RBI single from Ella Hayes to make it 6-1. Robbinsville limited the damage and headed to the seventh with the five-run lead.

Robbinsville added on two runs in the top of the seventh with a Dreylee Webster RBI single and a Williams RBI groundout to make it 8-1. The Bears kept fighting with a two-run homer over the left field wall from Aubrey Dotson to make it 8-3. The Black Knights put a stop to the rally and secured the championship sweep.

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“Our pregame in the cage and getting ready to play this game was crazy good. They had, forgot about yesterday and focused on that they got to play together one more time and they loved every second of it,” Knight said.

Robbinsville was the top seed out of the west and won the West Regional Championship with a sweep over Bethany Community. Bear Grass Charter was the top seed out of the east and was making their second ever appearance and their first since 2022 and won the East Regional Championship with a sweep over East Columbus.

Box Score

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