Softball perfection: 15 batters faced, 15 batters struck out

Princeton High’s Hailey Wood was doubly perfect last Friday when the Bulldogs beat Hobbton 19-0 in a five-inning softball game.

Wood not only threw a perfect game – no walks, no errors, no base runners – she also struck out all 15 of the batters she faced.

“She was really on,” said Princeton coach Terry Braswell. “She threw 64 pitches, 49 strikes. I don’t recall her having three balls on anyone except maybe once or twice.”

Wood said it felt like a regular game, although she had really good movement on a variety of pitches. She also knew she had struck out every batter and had a perfect game.

She felt a little pressure when she had three balls on a couple of hitters.

“You feel it a little bit,” said the 6-foot junior.

Braswell said Hobbton, now 2-7 overall, wasn’t the best team Princeton (10-4) has faced this season, but said Wood’s performance was remarkable.

Wood is 6-3 overall this season with 65 strikeouts in 46 innings. She has a 0.91 earned run average.

She also led the Princeton attack against Hobbton with two singles, a double and a triple.

She is expected to pitch Tuesday at Spring Creek and again on Friday at home against North Duplin.

PAC Six golf: The PAC Six 4A golfers donated more than 180 cans of food and $95 cash to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina after a quick fundraiser last week. Durham Riverside organized the event, a putting contest, after a league match at Croasdaile Country Club.

The entry fee was three cans of food. Every league school was represented in the contest.

MVP Maye: Luke Maye of Cornelius Hough was the most outstanding player in the Capital Classic boys basketball all-star game on Saturday. The 6-foot-8 University of North Carolina recruit had 15 points and 12 rebounds.

The U.S. All-Stars beat the Capital All-Stars 105-102 at Catholic University’s DuFour Center. May tied the game at 100-100 and South Carolina recruit P.J. Dozier (Columbia, S.C., Spring Valley) converted a three-point play for the lead.

“Winning MVP means a lot,” Maye told reporters after the game. “I just love coming to these events, especially this one with the best players in the country, and thankfully we won.”

Northern Hall: Northern Durham held its seventh annual Hall of Fame induction on Saturday at Croasdaile Country Club.

The inductees: basketball player Thomas Bethea (1978, the school’s all-time leading scorer); Joe Carden (1957, a three-sport standout); basketball player Greg Jones (1971, a standout at Methodist University); football and baseball standout Jerry Neal (1971, four-team all-conference baseball pick at Methodist); football and baseball standout Richard Wheeler (1972, played in four bowl games at N.C. State).

Big Eight lacrosse: The Big Eight 3A lacrosse tournament is scheduled to continue Tuesday night. The finals are scheduled for Thursday at regular-season champion Cardinal Gibbons High at 7 p.m.

Dual-team tennis: Wakefield High, the 2014 N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A dual-team champion, will be at home Tuesday against Richmond County for the first round of the 2015 playoffs.

Cardinal Gibbons, which has won the last four NCHSAA 4A dual-team titles, is at home against West Carteret, and 2014 2A champ Carrboro opens the tournament at Randleman.

The second round of the dual-team playoffs is scheduled for next week. Many of the top players will participate in the individual sectional tournament on Friday and Saturday.

This story was originally published April 27, 2015 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Softball perfection: 15 batters faced, 15 batters struck out."