Spring break is over, classes are back in session and high school teams are trying to figure out how to win when it matters most.
The Sandhills Athletic Conference baseball and softball tournaments start this week. Scotland and Purnell Swett will face off on Tuesday in both sports. Scotland’s fourth-seeded baseball team will host No. 5 Purnell Swett, and the fifth-seeded Lady Scots will travel to Pembroke to face the fourth-seeded Lady Rams. Both games start at 7 p.m.
The winner of the baseball game will face the winner of top-seeded Pinecrest and last-place Seventy-First on Wednesday. The winner of the softball game will play either first-place Richmond or No. 8 Seventy-First.
The Fighting Scots and Rams split their two-game regular-season matchups in both baseball and softball.
Here are some things to look for this week:
Baseball
PITCHERS’ DUEL
Tuesday’s game could feature an interesting pitching matchup between Scotland’s Michael Johnson and Purnell Swett’s Jeremiah Locklear.
Both pitchers finished the regular season strong. Johnson notched complete games in both of his last two starts, and Locklear hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last five outings (25-1/3 innings). These pitchers have shown they are capable of working deep into games.
The pitch count rule will be a key factor for both pitching staffs. Any pitchers who throw no more than 45 pitches will be eligible to return to the mound on Wednesday. Anything more than that will carry implications. A 46-60-pitch outing requires two days of rest, a 61-75-pitch outing requires three days of rest, and anything above that will keep a pitcher off the mound for four days.
Pinecrest, which finished 12-2 in conference play, will most likely await the winner of this game in the semifinal matchup on Wednesday. That means both teams will need to have some strong arms ready to go against the Patriots.
DIFFERENT SCENARIOS
Scotland and Purnell Swett ended their respective regular-season schedules with some non-conference games. Scotland finished 1-2 last week at the West Brunswick Beach Diamond Invitational, falling to rival Richmond in the third-place game. Purnell Swett won the Robeson County Slugfest as the tournament’s host. The Rams finished 3-0 at the Slugfest, and they wrapped up their season with a loss at E.A. Laney.
Those last games didn’t mean much in the big picture because the conference standings were already set in stone, but the Rams are riding a wave of momentum after winning a tournament on their home field. The Scots, who ended regular-season conference play with a two-game sweep of Richmond, will be itching to get back in the win column.
Softball
OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES
Scotland’s softball team scored just one run over its final four games, all of which were losses.
Just a few more runs might have helped the Lady Scots get a win or two against Lumberton. Sophomore pitcher Kinsley Sheppard was exceptional while going against Lumberton senior Morgan Britt in a pair of regular-season games, but the Lady Scots couldn’t find a way to back up their pitcher. The Lady Pirates won 1-0 in extra innings at home, and the won 2-0 in Laurinburg.
Scotland concluded its regular season with a pair of losses (9-0 and 4-1) against Richmond.
John Madden noted once or twice that a team can’t win games without scoring any points. Scotland learned that lesson the hard way, and the Lady Scots have a chance to right the ship on Tuesday.
That’s easier said than done against Purnell Swett’s pitching staff that includes senior JaiLeana Deese, as well as talented freshmen Summer Bullard and Chandra Locklear.
IN THE CIRCLE
Kinsley Sheppard, who sometimes shares pitching duties with her sister, Kadence, has turned in a stellar sophomore campaign. She is four strikeouts shy of 100 in 77 -2/3 innings of work. Her ERA is 1.53.
After looking at those numbers, it’s surprising to see her record is 6-6. A lot of that can be contributed to a rigorous conference schedule combined with the aforementioned inability to produce runs.
The Lady Scots can’t let Sheppard’s strong outings go to waste if they want to stay alive in the postseason.
