Lexington softball takes big win over Fort Mill in Game 1 of state championship series
Lexington softball star Sarah Gordon dug her cleats into the batter’s box in the top of the sixth inning and swung like she knew what was coming.
And once her bat made contact with the fastball — there was no question where the ball was going.
Gordon’s three-run home run in the left-field power alley in the top of the sixth furnished the final runs of Lexington’s 8-0 rout of Fort Mill High in Fort Mill on Tuesday night. The Wildcats, as a result, take the first game of the best-of-three Class 5A state championship series and every bit of momentum into a potential-title-clinching Game 2, which will take place at LHS on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
In other words, Lexington is nine innings away from the program’s sixth all-time state championship and its first since 2019.
Gordon received the team’s game ball for her efforts. The Louisville softball signee’s stat-line was remarkable: She finished with three hits, two home runs and three runs in four at-bats. She also notched her 18th home run on the year, which is a single-season school record.
“In 2019, when we won state, Hannah Kumiyama had 17, so (Gordon) surpassed her today,” Lexington head coach Laurie Epps told reporters postgame. “So that was pretty special for her.”
For Fort Mill, the lopsided loss gives the team no false sense of security on what Wednesday’s mission is: Show who we have been all year.
“We’ll find out tomorrow whether we have the intensity to come back and fight for the right that we’ve fought for all year long — and that’s the right to be in the state championship game,” Fort Mill head coach Chuck Stegall told reporters postgame. The Yellow Jackets, after Tuesday’s results, hope to keep their dreams of winning their first state championship alive on Wednesday night.
Lexington started fast. The Wildcats scored in the top of the first thanks to a Jessica Senn single that sent home Gordon. The Wildcats then loaded the bases, but the Yellow Jackets were able to wiggle out of the jam and strand three Lexington runners and exit the inning down only 1-0.
That was hardly an escape for Fort Mill, though: The Wildcats would score in four of the next six innings — thanks to a few Fort Mill fielding errors and four RBI from Gordon and a pair of RBI from Mackenzie Mathis.
And defensively, Lexington was great. Starting pitcher Riley Ford finished with a complete-game one-hitter — only giving up two walks and striking out five in the process.
When asked how her team will be able to maintain a competitor’s edge after Tuesday’s big win, Epps didn’t need a second thought.
“I think we’re hungry right now,” the Lexington coach said, shrugging. “The seniors want to get back to it. They want to win another one. They pretty much take care of themselves with the motivation part.”
Other softball scores across SC
1A: Bamberg Ehrhardt 8, Lewisville 4
2A: Gray Collegiate 7, Latta 0 (Monday)
3A: Broome 7, Aynor 0 (Monday)
4A: North Augusta 4, Catawba Ridge 0
This story was originally published May 24, 2022 at 10:32 PM.
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