By By BRIAN HAINES
Sports Writer
YEATESVILLE — It may be a new conference but the results ended up the same as Southside topped cross town and conference rival Northside 8-3 in both teams’ regular season finale, which was winner-take-all showdown for the newly formed Four Rivers Conference championship.
The conference crown is the Seahawks’ third in row, making them the last team to win the Atlantic Conference championship and the first team to win the Four Rivers.
“It feels good, it’s consistency in your program which is what I think it comes down to,” Southside coach John Lohman said. “And I’m not trying to pat myself on the back, but it’s been essentially three different groups of girls that have won. Gabby (Cillufo) pitched the first year, then it was Emily Smith and this year I got Savannah Mumford.”
Lohman and the Seahawks (12-2) may have changed No. 1 pitchers for the last three years, but they should not have to do it again for three more years as Mumford, a freshman, has been lights out all season.
For the second day in a row, Mumford has beat a perennial conference powerhouse, first holding down Williamston on Wednesday, then silencing Northside on Thursday.
Against the Panthers (11-3), Mumford scattered seven hits over seven innings, while fanning eight and walking two.
Despite the magnitude of both games, Mumford has kept her composure on the mound, which is something Lohman said comes from playing a lot of softball.
“She’s been huge, (her ability to stay calm) just comes from a lot of pitching,” Lohman said. “I remember when I first started coaching seeing her taking pitching lessons when she was like four.”
Mumford bested Northside’s junior ace Lilyann Arnold, who lasted only 2 2/3 innings before being pulled for freshman Jordan Woolard.
In that time the normally un-hittable Arnold allowed five runs on seven hits while striking out none.
Like Arnold, the usually staunch defense behind her was also shaky and committed three errors on the day, One of those errors was a ground ball hit to second which somehow was able to roll all the way to the home run fence in right-center that allowed two runs to score in the sixth.
Northside coach Louise Bierne said that the combination of a shaky defense with an inpatient approach at the plate was costly.
“We just had a lot of errors that (Southside) didn’t,” Northside coach Louise Bierne said. “We were a very anxious team in the box and we just weren’t patient enough to wait for that walk.”
Southside jumped up early and scored two runs in the first inning, one of which came on an error and the other from a Macy Paramore sac fly.
Northside countered with a run its first at-bat as Britney Alligood singled home Amanda Daw.
Daw and fellow senior Elizabeth Harris were both honored before the game during the Panthers’ Senior Night.
“Daw has been with us for so long she is like another daughter,” Bierne said of her star shortstop. “An Elizabeth is a great athlete who has done a lot for us.”
Southside held its Senior Night on Wednesday and honored Kristen Ayers, Becky Poole and Caitlyn Bogart.
Lohman praised their clubhouse presence.
“They have brought a lot of experience and calmness, they know how to do stuff and when show the others how things are done,” Lohman said.
Ayers helped contribute to a three-run third inning rally which broke the game open. After Valerie Ruffin and Macy Paramore singled and doubled respectively, Ayers made it a 3-1 game with an RBI single.
Bailey Hobbs kept the rally going with a bloop single to left off of Arnold that scored both Paramore and Ayers to make it a 5-1 game.
Hobbs would be the last batter Arnold would face. Freshman Jordan Woolard pitched the final 4 1/3 innings and let up only three runs.
Northside rallied in the bottom of the fourth when Rachel Hollowell hit a sac fly to score Oliver and Woolard blasted a triple that allowed Hollowell to cross the plate and cut the deficit to 5-3.
However, Southside would widen the margin by scoring a run in the fifth and two in the sixth.
Southside 203 012 0 — 8 9 1
Northside 100 200 0 — 3 7 3
WP: Savannah Mumford; LP: Lilyann Arnold
Hitters: S — Savannah Mumford 1-4 (R), Shakeria Lomax 1-3 (R), Valerie Ruffin 2-4 (2R), Macy Paramore 3-4 (RBI, 2B, 2R), Kristen Ayers 1-3 (RBI), Bailey Hobbs 1-3 (2 RBI); N — Jordan Woolard 1-2 (3B, RBI), Amanda Daw 1-3 (R), Brittany Alligood 2-4, Jena Payne 1-3 (R), Danielle Oliver 2-3.