The Nation Ford Lady Falcons softball team swept the season series against rival Fort Mill in their game Thursday to open May.
Nation Ford won 7-2 using two productive innings to do most of the damage. The win put the Falcons at 14-7 overall and 7-4 in Region 3-5A, while Fort Mill fell to 5-7 in the region and finished the regular season at 7-10.
“I’m proud of the way the girls battled,” said Nation Ford head coach Craig Brown. “They weren’t going to back down. We swung the bats well and did what we needed to do. We are playing some really good ball. Our pitching did really well.”
Nation Ford opened the top of the first with Tori Baldino walking to start the game. An error scored Baldino off a Brooke Ressler bunt. Abigail Loser, who has been selected to the North-South All-Star game, then doubled to score Ressler putting the Falcons up 2-0.
Fort Mill threatened in the bottom of the inning getting two on base with singles from Elise Nordgren and Mallory Moore.
Nation Ford starter Kailey Alston continued to pitch well through three innings. Counterpart Haley Rogers hit a single in the second, but that was all the Jackets could do in the inning.
In the bottom of the third, Fort Mill got one runner on in Brooke Rosario after she got hit by a pitch, but again couldn’t drive her in.
A single by Jill Hennessy started the fourth inning for the Falcons. Rachel Studer also singled in the inning, setting up a three-run home run by Loser pushing the lead to 5-0.
Jamison Noonan came into the game for the Falcons in the fourth inning for starter Alston. Alston went four innings allowing three hits, while not allowing a walk and striking out three.
Jackie Knol led the top of the fourth off with a solo home run to left field. Hennessy doubled and Baldino drove her in two batters later.
Fort Mill got a run in the fifth. Elaina Hildebrand walked to get things started. Rosario was also walked with two outs. A throwing error allowed the run for the Jackets as Fort Mill would load the bases. Nordgren then singled in Rosario giving Fort Mill a second run.
Paizlei Ross came in to pitch for the Falcons in the sixth inning. Noonan allowed one run on one hit in one inning of work, while walking two and striking out one.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Fort Mill got a runner on due to an error, but again left her stranded to end the game.
Nation Ford was led by Loser, who went 2-4 with four RBIs and Knol, who went 1-3 with an RBI. Both Hennessy and Studer each went 2-3 as well.
Despite the loss, Fort Mill head softball coach Skyler O’Mara said she feels good about where her team is heading into the playoffs next week.
“Despite the loss, I feel like we are playing the best softball we have played all season,” she said. “We are swinging the bats well. Things are coming together. We are playing more as a team and that is good momentum heading into the playoffs.”
Fort Mill was led by Nordgren at the plate as she went 2-3 with an RBI. Rogers took the loss going four and two-thirds innings allowing seven runs on six hits, while walking two and striking out four.
May 1 Roundup
The Nation Ford boys’ tennis team blanked Gaffney in the second round of the playoffs winning 6-0. Winning for the Falcons was Colt Mohler 6-3, 6-2; Davis Glasco 6-0, 6-2; Owen McCullough 6-1, 6-1; Zach Robinson 6-1, 6-0; Jacob Brancato 6-0, 6-4; and in doubles Jaideep Tatineni and Shanmith Kamireddy 6-2, 6-0. Nation Ford improved to 13-2 on the season.
The Fort Mill boys’ tennis team fell in the second round of the playoffs to TL Hanna 4-3. The loss ends the Jackets season at 10-3 overall.
The Nation Ford baseball team beat Fort Mill 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning with a walk-off hit from Carson Krueger to score the winning run for the Falcons. Nation Ford improved to 8-10 in Region 3-5A and 12-14 overall to finish the regular season. Fort Mill dropped to 19-6 overall and 13-5 in the region.
The Catawba Ridge baseball team swept the three-game series against Clover winning game three 7-3 to finish Region 3-5A play at 13-5 and improve to 18-7-1 overall on the season. Britton Nash went 2-3 with two RBIs to lead the Copperheads. Sam Schwamb went 1-2 with a two-run home run for Catawba Ridge.
The Nation Ford girls’ soccer team beat Fort Mill 3-1 to finish Region 3-5A play with a perfect 12-0 mark and improved to 19-2-1 overall. Fort Mill dropped to 7-5 in the region and 8-7 overall on the year.
The Nation Ford boys’ soccer team won 2-0 over Fort Mill to finish Region 3-5A play at 9-3 and the regular season at 17-5 overall. Fort Mill dropped to 6-6 to finish region play and 9-10 overall.
The Catawba Ridge boys’ golf team beat Northwestern 164-177. The Copperheads were led by a 38 from Carter Mitten, followed by a 40 from Niam Sethi, a 42 from Muller Otto and a 44 from Roman Vasicko.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
