Seventh-inning rally lifts Apex to NCHSAA 4-A State Championship

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – A six-run rally in the top of the seventh inning paved the way for Apex to top Hickory Ridge 8-5 in Game 3 of the NCHSAA 4-A softball championship series, giving the Cougars their first softball state title.

The Cougars scored a pair of runs in the top of the first as Bailey Sigmon had an RBI ground out and Anamie Whittlesey hit an RBI single to left. The Ragin’ Bulls responded in the home half of the inning as Tori Kirkpatrick hit an RBI double, Dew Anna tripled home a pair of runs and Chloe Woodward added an RBI single.

In the third, Emma Shumaker added an RBI single to give Hickory Ridge a 5-2 lead.

For the Cougars in the top of the seventh, a pop fly by Avery Dearman and an error allowed Leah Kendall and Lauren McMahon to both score and pull within one run. Later in the inning, Hailey Spielman singled with the bases loaded and cleared the bases with the help of an error. A dropped third strike in the next at-bat allowed Spielman to score and give the Cougars an 8-5 lead.

Apex’s Alyssa Kaufman pitched a complete game, went 2-for-4 at the plate and was named MVP for her efforts.

The Cougars forced a Game 3 with a walk-off 8-6 win earlier on Saturday.

Hickory Ridge edged in front 6-5 in the top of the seventh inning as Tori Kirkpatrick lifted a sac fly to right field that scored Kristyn Embler. In the bottom of the seventh, Amanda Essig singled home Leah Kendall to tie the score at 6-6 and the Cougars proceeded to load up the bases but couldn’t push across the winning run.

In the bottom of the eighth, Kendall singled with two outs and Kaleigh Ayscue homered to center field for a walk-off two-run shot.

Kendall and Ayscue each went 3-for-5 in the game and Kendall scored three times. For the Ragin’ Bulls, Embler, and Dew Anna and Taylor Steele each went 2-for-4. 

In Game 1 on Friday night, Hickory Ridge rode a strong performance from Anna Dew in the circle to take a 3-0 win and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

Dew tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout and struck out eight batters in the winning effort. She needed just 92 pitches to finish the game and 66 of those went for strikes.

For Apex, Pitcher Madeline Degnan took a hard-luck loss as she allowed just four hits in six innings and did not give up an earned run.

Four different Bulls each recorded one hit in the game including RF Laura Herzig who added an RBI and a run scored. Grace Bechtol also added a hit and an RBI. For the Cougars, Degnan and Bailey Sigmon each had one hit.

The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing and promoting good sportsmanship and has partnered with the NC Farm Bureau to honor two student-athletes at each of this year’s championships with Sportsmanship Awards for excellence throughout the season. The 4A Softball Sportsmanship Award winners were Grace Bechtol from Hickory Ridge and Kathryn Curry from Apex.

The Cougars finished the year 21-8, while Hickory Ridge ended up 27-3.