Members of the Laurinburg Optimist 12-U All-Star softball team are, front row: Brittany Gibson, Ashleigh Bailey, Jessie Phillips, Abby Bray and Leslie Floyd. Second row: Hailey Clark, Katelyn Hunt, Avery Callahan, Caylin Ikner, Grace McCormick, Hayley Butler, Shuquaillia German. Third row: assistant coach Laura Hunt, assistant coach Steve Ikner and head coach Wayne Butler.
Laurinburg rolled a pair of opponents by double digits before dropping a pair of one-run games to exit the tournament. The Optimist All Stars dropped Nash County 12-2 in their first-round game; winning pitcher Avery Callahan struck out five batters, and Shuquaillia German had two K's in relief.
Laurinburg won its second-round game with New Bern 15-1. Callahan had three strikeouts in the win, and Hayley Butler fanned a pair of New Bern batters.
Laurinburg lost 2-1 to Lenoir (Callahan had five K's in the loss) and by the same score against Pitt County (German four K's in the loss) in an elimination game. Laurinburg lost both games on unearned runs after entering the sixth and final inning with a 1-0 lead.
"All the girls played great all week long," said Laurinburg 12-U All-Star head coach Wayne Butler. "We were two wins away from going to the Babe Ruth World Series; we still finished third in the state and qualified to go to the regionals in Virginia.
"We went to Williamston and opened up a lot of eyes. All you could hear around the ballpark was, 'Who is this Laurinburg team.'"
Laurinburg's top hitters in the tournament were: Leslie Floyd (8-for-11); Hayley Butler (7-for-12); Hailey Clark (7-for-13); Ashleigh Bailey (5-for-7); Abby Bray (5-for-11); Avery Callahan (5-for-12); Grace McCormick (3-for-8); Katelyn Hunt (4-for-12); Brittany Gibson (2-for-2); Shuquaillia German (2-for-5); Caylin Ikner (1-for-3); and Jessie Phillips (1-for-8).
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