Holly Springs softball takes out Cardinal Gibbons in first round

East No. 7 seed Holly Springs smothered Cardinal Gibbons in a 10-0 victory Tuesday night in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A softball playoffs. The game immediately ended in the fifth inning when the Golden Hawks (17-4) took the double-digit lead.

Golden Hawks starting pitching Sydney Collins set the tone for her team.

She tossed a gem, allowing just one hit and striking out nine. On the night, Collins faced no more than four batters in any inning. But she also made a big impact in the batter’s box with a standup triple in the second inning.

“Tonight was one of her biggest debut hits,” said Holly Springs coach Emily Pierce. “She has been working through that job mentally.”

Holly Springs put pressure on 30th overall seed Cardinal Gibbons all night on the base paths. It scored four times on wild pitches and advanced 16 total bases in the game on wild pitches, stolen bags and heady running.

“My top of the lineup and bottom of the lineup is very quick,” Pierce said. “I put a lot of faith and trust in them. Ninety percent of the time, I give them the green light to make the decision. ... Today we were a little more aggressive. I could see the fire in my girls, and I was like, if you’re going to run, I’m going to send you.”

Going into the second round, Pierce’s team will either face a team she knows little about, West Johnston, or a close conference rival, Fuquay-Varina.

“If it is a matchup with Fuquay, it’ll be great for our town,” Pierce said. “It’ll have a lot of hype, and it’ll bring people out. At the end of the day, I have to coach my girls to be mentally stronger because physically, we’re even.”

Holly Springs defeated the Bengals twice this season but only by a combined three runs. However with Tuesday’s strong play, Collins said her squad is ready for a possible matchup with Fuquay.

“All of our bats are coming around at the right time, and our defense looked good,” Collins said. “We’re going to be in really good shape going into round two.”

Although Holly Springs has another game, Cardinal Gibbons (8-13) will end an injury-plagued season. Coach Jennifer Harrison said the Crusaders came into the game without three of her best pitchers fully healthy. Alex Mills has been out for two months, and Sarah Austin returned Tuesday but could only play first base.

The third pitcher, Clare Zureich, started the game and pitched well but was limited. She threw eight strikeouts in four innings but was on a pitch limit and couldn’t pitch in the fifth.

“We mutually set with her pitching coach what’s appropriate for her to be throwing right now,” Harrison said. “When she gets to that point, she’s finished.”

When Zureich departed with Holly Springs up 3-0, there wasn’t much Harrison could do without available pitchers. The Golden Hawks sent 11 batters to the plate in the fifth inning and scored seven runs to end the game.

“It’s more important to me that (Zureich) does what she needs to do to be 100 percent healthy than she keeps throwing in a game like this,” Harrison said.

This story was originally published May 10, 2017 at 3:34 AM with the headline "Holly Springs softball takes out Cardinal Gibbons in first round."