Scotland softball tops Union Pines in home opener behind Dixon’s RBIs, Stutts’ pitching

LAURINBURG — The Scotland softball team kicked off its season on Feb. 29. It had yet to play in front of its home crowd nearly two weeks into March, though.

After Scotland’s two initially scheduled home games were canceled, its first home opponent became the Union Pines Vikings, who the Lady Scots were able to get by with a 2-0 victory Tuesday night behind exceptional play at the plate by Madison Dixon and in the circle by Avery Stutts.

Dixon, playing in her first game back on the diamond since the first game against Lumberton after suffering a spinal cord injury with the Scotland women’s basketball team during its second-round playoff game at Fike on March 1, put the ball in play twice to bring home Scotland’s only runs, ending with one hit and two RBIs.

“She is a competitor, she works hard; the girl’s never going to stop working,” Romaine said on Dixon, who is committed to Wingate University. “And her to be able to come back with being out for about two weeks with an injury from her basketball season and just steps right back in like … she’s not missed nothing really. She put the ball in play well tonight for us.”

Stutts finished allowing no runs on one hit with 11 strikeouts and zero walks in a complete pitching performance.

“This girl right here is a jewel to watch,” Scotland coach Adam Romaine said on Stutts, a Campbell University commit. “She had another great game. She had a no-hitter, actually a perfect game going (in the seventh inning) until the girl just put the bat on the ball real good, just went over our left fielder’s head. But she bounced right back and shut the next girl down at the end to end the game.”

But at the beginning is when Scotland (4-0, 2-0 Sandhills Athletic Conference) took a 1-0 lead. After Addison Johnson singled, then stole second, Dixon hit a line drive to center field to score Johnson in the first.

“That’s one of those things where I’m looking to pull the ball,” Dixon said. “I’m just looking to score that run. That’s my thing. And that worked out, obviously.”

Following an inning where the Lady Scots went down with three outs in four pitches, they responded in the third when Dawson Blue doubled, took third and then scored after Dixon grounded out.

“My only job at that time is to score that run,” Dixon said. “So I tried my best to pull that ball, and I did, I think, up the middle, shortstop got it. And I did my job. I might have got out that second time, but I did my job.”

Scotland only had runners in scoring position once more in the fifth; with loaded bases and no outs, Blue flew out at the next at-bat, and Nateya Scott was ruled out on an appeal at home on the same play. The bases were restocked after Dixon was intentionally walked, but Lindsay Locklear grounded out to send it to the sixth.

“I felt like we should have put more than two runs on the game,” Romaine said. “We had opportunities, bases loaded with no outs, and didn’t scratch nothing across with the top of our lineup right there. We hit the ball well now; I think every girl put the ball in play; we just hit it right to people and that happens. You’ve just got to take the good with that, but … eventually, you’ve got to make adjustments and find ways to put the ball in play somewhere different. And we did some things to get some girls on to put the pressure on the pitcher, but we just didn’t answer to that once we got the girls in scoring position. So we’ve got to work on that.”

Scotland had only five hits on the night; along with one from Blue, Johnson and Dixon, Addison Lewis and Kinsey Hamilton each had a single.

“We did bad about pulling the ball,” Dixon said. “We have to wait. That’s our thing right now. Our defense was solid. Our pitcher carried us tonight. She had 11 strikeouts. Eleven out of 21; that’s crazy. But rather than that, we have to have her back hitting-wise. We have to produce those runs when she’s putting the defense on her back.”

Elizabeth Andrews had the only hit for Union Pines (4-1, 2-1 SAC), which ended Stutts’ perfect-game bid with one out in the seventh.

Scotland’s next game won’t be until Tuesday when Pinecrest visits Laurinburg.

The annual Live Like Madison Strikeout Cancer game against Marlboro County that was scheduled for Monday has been postponed to April 22; the teams were supposed to play in Bennettsville on that date but will now play in Laurinburg so Scotland can hold the annual contest in honor of Madison Fedak, a Scotland County native who passed away at 7 years old from Osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, in 2019.

Romaine said donations toward cancer research and keeping Fedak’s name alive will be accepted again as they have in previous years.

“It’s always a great cause,” Romaine said. “Marlboro loves to come in and play this game with us. They’ve done it the last two years with us. And it’s good for the community. It’s good for the foundation, but it’s also good for the South Carolina, North Carolina little thing we got with them. It’s fun. But they’ve got a good pitcher coming in, too, so we’ve got to get ready for her.”