Don’t be mistaken by the Davie softball team’s 1-2 stretch last week. Davie won the game that mattered most, beating Reagan 8-5 at home to preserve second place in the Central Piedmont Conference.
In the first game of the week, Davie lost 5-1 at North Davidson. But any time you make North work for seven innings, it’s not a terrible loss. North is all but a lock to go 10-0 in the CPC, so this one doesn’t hurt Davie in the race for runner-up.
A home game with Lake Norman resulted in an ugly 11-2 loss. But it was a nonconference game against a vaunted opponent.
The difference against North Davidson was the first inning. North pushed across four runs on five hits. But pitcher Caroline Miller held North to one run over the next five innings, throwing just 58 pitches over that span.
Take away the first and Miller was every bit as good as North pitchers MacKenzie Hauser and Eliza Davis.
Even though Davie didn’t get its first hit until the fifth, it threatened in the fifth to make it a game. The War Eagles had the bases loaded while trailing 5-1. Davis, though, bailed out North with an inning-ending strikeout.
Miller’s resurgence after a slow start to the season was especially evident against visiting Reagan.
The Raiders grabbed a 4-0 lead in the top of the first. But Miller came on in relief and completely dominated the Raiders. She gave up two hits in 4 1/3 scoreless innings, walking none and fanning five. She needed just 44 pitches.
Davie’s key parts offensively were Allie Fruits (3 for 4), Morgan Hendrix (2-3, two steals), Abby Daniels (2-4) and Miller (2-4, two RBIs, two doubles).
In the last of the first, Davie cut the 4-0 deficit to 4-3. Hendrix and Fruits mixed singles with doubles by Daniels and Sadie Lagle …