By By BRIAN HAINES
Sports Writer
CHOCOWINITY — The Seahawks handled their first test of the postseason with ease as Savannah Mumford and Rebekah Langston combined to one-hit North Edgecombe as Southside stormed past the Warriors 15-2 in five innings on Tuesday in the first round of the NCHSAA 1-A playoffs.
From the get-go it was clear that Southside (17-4), the top seed from the Four Rivers Conference, was superior to North Edgecombe (7-7), the No. 3 seed from the Tar Roanoke Conference.
The win will pit the Seahawks against the winner the Bear Grass (13-8)-Camden (10-7) matchup on Friday at home.
Southside has played Camden twice and split the series with the Bruins, while it has beaten the Bears in its lone contest this year.
After Mumford struck out two of the first three batters in a quick 1-2-3 inning, the Seahawks stepped to the plate and had what basically amounted to batting practice against Warriors starter Kayla Booth.
With a below par fastball, Booth puzzled some impatient Seahawks’ hitters, but those occasions were few and far between as Southside rallied for 12 runs on eight hits in the first inning.
Macy Paramore and Marlin Edwards each delivered two-RBI singles, while Bailey Hobbs and Mumford drove in a run each.
Mumford, Southside’s leadoff batter, had two hits in the inning and was pulled before she could get another at-bat.
“We got a win and we were able to move on,” Southside coach John Lohman said. “That is the most important thing.”
Facing a pitcher with a below average fastball can sometimes be tricky for a team, but Southside handled the challenge and produced runs.
“It’s tough, the toughest thing for us is to face a pitcher that throws around 44-45 miles per hour … We actually lost a game like that,” Lohman said. “But we work on understanding what to do when you’re facing someone who isn’t throwing 55.
With a 12-0 lead after the first, Lohman gave his starters one more inning of action before he emptied his bench.
“It’s good to be able to get everyone some playing time,” Lohman said. “Not everybody gets playing time once they make it to varsity and they understand that, so it was good to get them in the game.”
Mumford was pulled after two innings of work and struck out four of the six batters she faced.
Langston, who like Mumford is also a freshman, came in and looked good in the final three innings. The hard-throwing lefty fanned six batters while letting up one hit and one run.
“She pitched well. She has a lot of movement on her pitches, possibly more than Savannah,” Lohman said. “She has been out here working hard and has been patiently waiting for her turn. It’s nice to know that if Savannah gets in trouble you have a really good No. 2 pitcher behind her.”
Southside added three more runs in the third inning, which was highlighted by a Sondra Sparks inside-the-park home run along with RBI singles by Kayla Jones and Hobbs.
North Edgecombe 000 00 — 0 1 2
Southside (12)03 0X — 15 13 0
WP: Savannah Mumford; LP: Kayla Booth
N — Samone Mason 1-2 (RBI); S — Savannah Mumford 2-2 (RBI), Shakeria Lomax 1-3 (2 R), Sondra Sparks 2-2 (HR, 3 RBI), Macy Paramore 2-3 (2 RBI), Kristen Ayers 1-1 (2 RBI), Kayla Jones 1-1 (RBI), Bailey Hobbs 1-2 (2 RBI), Marlin Edwards 1-3 (2 RBI), Becky Poole 1-2.