Lady Cavs end regular season with a flourish

Apr. 27—There was only one thing that could have made the last two weeks of the 2024 regular season any better for Southern Lee. On Thursday night, they got that too.

The Lady Cavaliers will head into next week's Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament on a six-game winning streak. The last of those wins came Thursday at the newly-christened Lou Layton Softball Complex, where a seven-run final inning brought Southern back from behind to beat arch-rival Lee County 14-9.

The win set all sorts of "firsts" for the Lady Cavaliers (11-7, 7-5 SAC). Southern beat the Lady Jackets for the first time in nearly two years. The 11th win set a school record for the softball program, clinched the first winning season for the Lady Cavaliers in at least a dozen years, and propelled Southern into a third-place finish in the SAC. Southern beat every team in the conference at least once except for Scotland, the outright conference champion and top-ranked team in the NCHSAA 3A RPI.

Prior to the game, the Lee County softball complex was named in honor of Lou Layton, who coached both the Lady Jackets and Lady Cavaliers during her long career as a coach in the county. Members of both current teams were present as the signage recognizing Layton was unveiled a half-hour before the game got under way. Layton's name is on the facility, while the playing field remains named in honor of former player Priscilla Anne Edwards (1983-2000), whose scholarship endowment was also recognized before the game.

Layton was going to be a winner either way, but the game still meant a lot to the two teams on the field. Southern was playing to make all of the aforementioned achievements a reality. As for Lee County, the Lady Jackets are probably high enough in the RPI to ensure they will be in the playoffs, but a win would have given them another season sweep and county bragging rights.

The game itself was a toss-up and no one was likely surprised it wasn't decided until the final inning. The Lady Cavaliers seized the momentum after a big defensive play by senior shortstop Carrie Ellen Bryan in the bottom of the first. Kallie Byrd led off the Lee first with a walk against pitcher Albani Hooker, and had first and second with one out after a single by Savanna Mullins. However, Bryan turned the tables with a leaping catch of a hard-hit line drive off the bat of Imani Chubbs, then doubled Byrd off second to end the inning.

The Cavalier bats were heard from moments later. Natalie Guevara and Sydney Bisson opened the second with singles. With one out, Ava Sharpe singled them both in for a 2-0 lead, and Brooke Simmons followed that up with another hit. Sharpe beat the throw on a fielders' choice grounder hit by Mailyah Wilson to load the bases.

The top of the order came up and the Cavs kept hitting. Maggie Lucas, Hooker, Bryan and Guevara all pounded out singles. By the time Lee got off the field, Southern was ahead 7-0.

Lee County spent the next five innings fighting back. The Lady Jackets got two of them back right away. Hooker committed a throwing error that allowed Sophia Scott to score Lee's first run, and an RBI single by Victoria Smith put another run on the board.

Mullins and Hooker spent the next few innings matching zeroes, including a spectacular fourth inning from the former where she struck out the side, moments after Bryan had picked her off second to complete the third. But in the fifth, the Lady Jackets stung.

Southern got two of the first three batters out, after a single from Kasie Roberts. But then Southern failed to get the third out on a fielders' choice hit by Cherish Smith, and paid the price. Mullins walked, and Chubbs singled to drive them both in after a passed ball.

Now the lead was just 7-5, and things got worse in the sixth, when Lee County again rallied on two. Victoria Smith and Byrd walked, and then Cherish Smith singled to drive in Victoria Smith. Following a walk to Mullins, Chubbs struck again, smacking a ball into left field to drive in Cherish Smith and Byrd for an 8-7 Lee County lead.

Now Southern was right back where it had been three weeks before, when it lost by a run to Lee. The Lady Cavaliers needed a seventh-inning rally then and got one, but came up a run short. But this time, they had the top of the order up and they had a few more hits left in their bats.

Lucas and Hooker opened the top of the seventh with back-to-back singles to left. Bryan followed and decided to work the middle of the field, singling to center to drive them both in. Then Guevara singled to center herself and Bisson was hit to load the bases. Delaney Maria grounded out, but got Bryan in, and one out later, Simmons singled to drive in Bisson and Guevara. A single by Wilson scored Simmons, and then Lucas tripled to drive in Wilson for a 14-8 lead.

Lee County managed just one run in the bottom of the ninth before Hooker, a workhorse on the mound for the second game in a row, retired the side on her 146th pitch of the game. It was a popup back to her for the final out.

Southern pounded out 16 hits. Lucas and Guevara had three hits each; and Hooker, Bryan, Sharpe and Simmons two each. Lucas and Bryan both had three RBI and Simmons two. Lucas, Bryan, Guevara, Bisson, Simmons and Wilson all scored two runs. For Lee County, Chubbs went 2-for-4 with four RBI, while Cherish Smith scored and drove in two runs.

Both teams will await the conference tournament next week. Southern will open at home against Hoke, and Lee will host Richmond. The Lady Cavs finished in outright third place, while the Lady Jackets finished tied for fourth with Richmond, but beat the Lady Raiders both times. Both teams appear to be safely in the playoffs. Southern is 14th in the latest RPI and Lee is 26th, with the top 32 teams making the field.