The West Stanly Angels (9, 10, and 11-year olds) lost to West Lincoln 2 – 1 in the Dixie Softball State Championship game. The game was very unusual, so thought I would give you the details.
This age group plays 5 inning games. The championship game started at 6:15 PM. At about 7:30 PM, after four complete innings, West Stanly was trailing 2 – 0 when the game was delayed due to lightening. Only light drizzle fell, but because of the continuous lightening, the game did not resume until approximately 10:00 PM.
West Stanly was the home team and held West Lincoln scoreless in the top half of the 5th. In the bottom of the 5th, after the first two batters struck out, West Stanly was down to its last out. Lindsey Phillips and Haleigh Griffin then drew walks. This brought the potential winning run to the plate. After reaching a full count, and then fouling-off two pitches to stay alive, Blair Helms drilled a shot over the center fielder’s head. Both base runners crossed home and Helms stopped at third with an apparent triple. Unfortunately, the third base coach touched Griffin as she rounded third. The third base umpire observed this and called Griffin out. This was the final out of the game. Therefore, West Stanly lost 2 – 1.
