Panthers in final

For once, Jim Blanton was happy to see the scoreboard at Hibriten's softball field read 3-2 in favor of the visitors.

Because of their lower seeding, Blanton's Panthers, the tournament hosts, were in that role on their home field Wednesday in the semifinals of the Catawba Valley Athletic Conference tournament.

A little confusing? Yeah. But it didn't matter.

The Panthers, seeded No. 3, defeated second-seeded St. Stephens and advanced to today's final against Bandys.

“We've worked really hard, pretty much worked the whole year around for this,” Hibriten pitcher Ashlyn Pope said.

The Panthers (19-6) will be back in the role of the home team today at 4:30 p.m. The Trojans are seeded fourth in the tourney and advanced to the final with a 15-14, come-from-behind win over top seed Foard Tuesday. The Trojans scored six runs in the seventh inning to extend the semifinal game and won it in 10 innings.

“Bandys is a sleeper,” Blanton said. “They're a tough team. They always give us fits.”

Never moreso than last Tuesday. With the regular season winding down and the league's top 2-A playoff spot still up for grabs, the two teams met in Lenoir with a lot on the line. Hibriten, which won the first meeting between the teams, played well for four innings, but the Trojans scored seven runs in the fifth and won 11-1.

“Way too big a difference,” Pope said of the score.

The Panthers certainly have revenge on their minds today, but Hibriten was able to hold off a revenge attempt Wednesday against the Indians who lost their bid for a league title when the Panthers dropped them late in the year.

With the score tied 2-2 through four innings, the Panthers pulled ahead in the top half of the fifth when Hannah Crowe grounded out to second to score Krista Sumpter, who had singled to lead off the inning, from third. Crowe also drove in Sumpter on a groundout for the Panthers' initial run in the top half of the first.

Hibriten scored a run in the second to go up 2-0 when Chelsea Walker hit an infield single to score Kayla Brown from third. St. Stephens' LaMeisha Gore scored in the third when Holly Jones reached base on an error and the Indians pulled even with a run in the fourth when Julia Wakefield led off with a triple to center and scored on a sacrifice by Tranea Jones. But Pope - for the second straight inning - allowed just a run when the opposition loaded the bags.

“You get really nervous and pressured, but you have to keep doing your job and get through it,” Pope said.

She pitched seven innings, striking out eight, allowing five hits and walking four. Blanton said it was one of the sophomore's better efforts of a pretty good year, one that includes more than 200 strikeouts.

He awarded the game ball to catcher Sumpter, who along with scoring two runs had two hits. She leads the team in batting with an average above .400.

The Panthers had eight hits Wednesday. Bailey Goble was the other Panther with multiple hits. She was 2-for-3 with a double.

Gore led the Indians with a 2-for-4 day.