Don’t look now, but the Jordan-Matthews softball team is making a late-season push for a share of the regular season Mid-Carolina Conference title.
The Jets took control of their own destiny Friday by taking down county rival Chatham Central, 4-2. Jordan-Matthews (12-3, 8-1 Conf.) lost its first meeting with the Bears (15-1, 11-1 Conf.) this season, by a score of 6-3, but head coach Holly Clark’s team got its revenge on the road this time around.
“We’ve been focusing on going back to the basics,” Clark said. “I tell them every day to take care of the ball, so we focus on taking care of the ball and the wins seem to follow that. They compete every single day, no matter who it is. I’m really proud of how they show up every day.”
Chatham Central held a 2-0 lead after one inning Friday thanks to a two-run single from junior Cassie McKiethan, but the Jets wouldn’t go down quietly. With two outs in the top of the fourth, J-M scratched across two runs on two Central errors. Then, senior Macy Beavers put the Jets ahead with a two-run single of her own to plate the winning runs.
In the circle, freshman Lilli Hicks pitched a complete game, allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out two batters and walking five. The key for Jordan-Matthews on Friday was playing sound defense behind its pitcher — the Jets finished the game with zero errors compared to the Bears’ five.
“Our pitchers know they can trust the girls behind them,” Clark said. “They know they can throw the ball in there and not have to think they need to strike everybody out. And offensively, our one through nine, we have confidence in whoever is up at the plate.”
With a 12-3 overall record and a 8-1 mark in conference play, Jordan-Matthews came into Tuesday’s game against Bartlett Yancey (occurred after press time) needing to win its final conference games to claim at least a share of the Mid-Carolina Conference regular season title. The Jets wrap up the regular season Thursday at home with a double-header against Cummings, which was winless entering the week.
Chatham Central, meanwhile, clinched a share of the MCC on Monday with a road win over Graham. The Bears also played Wednesday away from home against Eastern Randolph.
Despite losing to the Jets last week, Central figures to earn a high seed in the upcoming 1A state tournament. The Bears came into this week ranked seventh in the 1A East by MaxPreps.
The top players for Chatham Central at the plate this season have been senior Jaylee Williams (.617 average, 29 hits, 16 RBI), sophomore Emma Burke (.528, 19 hits, 20 RBI), sophomore Caleigh Warf (.386, 17 hits, 21 RBI) and McKeithan (.450, 18 hits, 24 RBI). In the circle, senior Mary Gaines has won 12 games and has 64 strikeouts against five walks over 57 innings pitched.
The third Chatham County team in the Mid-Carolina Conference, Seaforth, was 4-10 overall and 4-6 in league play ahead of Tuesday’s game against North Moore. Entering this week, the Hawks were led at the plate by freshman Cami Brinkley (.655, 19 hits, five RBI), freshman Emma Strong (.500, 18 hits, 12 RBI) and sophomore Addison Clarke (.407, 11 hits, 13 RBI).
Ranked 15th in the 1A East by MaxPreps, Chatham Charter was 7-1 overall coming into Tuesday’s game against Bethany Community. The Knights are also 2-0 in Central 1A Tar Heel Conference play, winning both of its games against River Mill, the only other member of the conference. Chatham Charter closes its regular season against River Mill on the road Thursday.
Leading the way for the Knights this season have been freshman Kynzie Jordan (.810, 17 hits, four RBI), sophomore Ella Ingle (.700, 14 hits, three RBI), junior Delana Loflin (.550, 11 hits, 10 RBI) and senior Hallie Edmondson (.588, 10 hits, 10 RBI). Edmondson is also the team’s top pitcher with a 6.74 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 27 innings.
Playing what could be their final season at the 3A level with possible realignment on the way, Northwood was 5-14 overall and 1-7 in league play entering Tuesday’s game at Eastern Alamance. Coming into the week, the team’s top hitters were senior Zoe Hatzidakis (.429, 21 hits, 11 RBI), junior Sarah Warfford (.486, 20 hits, 12 RBI) and junior Callan Perchinsky (.412, seven hits, 10 RBI in seven games).
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.