May River softball’s postseason run came to an end Wednesday night, falling at Darlington in a back-and-forth 13-7 defeat in the SCHSL Class 4A District 4 tournament.
After catching the Sharks trying to steal home plate to end the top of the first inning, Darlington got the offense going in the bottom half, scoring a pair of runs on ground-ball singles from pitcher Madie Andrews and third baseman Amber Rogers to take an early 2-0 lead.
The visitors got a run back in the second inning thanks to a Macey Dowe leadoff triple setting up an RBI groundout before senior Reilly Wake tied the game in the third with a solo blast to center field. Darlington responded quickly, rattling off five runs in the home half on two hits and four walks to claim a commanding 7-2 lead.
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But the resilient Sharks were far from done. After a quick flyout, Caleigh Powell got the rally started in the next half-inning with a ringing double to left field. Gabby Ximenex and Hannah Downey notched back-to-back singles to load the bases, and Wake was hit by a pitch to score Powell. Giovana Rodiguez kept the line moving with a bloop single plating two more, and Casey Laing delivered the clutch two-out, game-tying hit, sneaking a ground ball up the middle to complete the five-run fourth and knot the elimination game at 7 apiece.
But it was all Darlington the rest of the way, as the Falcons rattled off the last six runs before Andrews finished off her complete-game victory to bring the Sharks’ season to an end.
Wake excelled at the top of the lineup for May River in her final game, going 2-for-2 with a home run and a pair of RBIs while Rodiguez went 2-for-4 with a double and drove in two. The Shark offense impressed throughout the order, as eight of the nine MRHS batters collected at least one hit in the ballgame.
May River concludes the season with a mark of 10-6.
By Wes Kerr