Washington steamrolls South Lenoir to clinch conference

LAGRANGE—Lilly Frances Lobos and Sydney Walker led the charge for the Pam Pack, as the Washington girls’ soccer team crushed South Lenoir 8-0 on the road Thursday night.

The win gave Washington (14-5, 8-0) the Eastern Carolina 2A Conference title. It was also the Pam Pack’s 44th-straight victory in conference play, going back to when Washington played in the Coastal Carolina 3A Conference.

The Pam Pack got off to a slow start on Thursday, but after 10 minutes of play, Washington started taking command of the game. Lobos opened the scoring with a goal, which was followed by a goal from Walker. By the time the ref’s whistle sounded to mark the end of the opening half, the Pam Pack led 6-0.

South Lenoir (8-6, 5-2) changed tactics going into the second half and sat back defensively to prevent even more goals. Washington still managed to create chances to score, failing to convert most of them.

But Lobos and Walker both struck once again to close out the scoring. Lobos finished with four goals, while Walker found the net twice. Maricela Gutierrez and Rebecca Zerniak chipped in with a goal each.

Washington travels to Kinston on Tuesday for its second-to-last game of the regular season.

Unity completes perfect season with win

GREENVILLE—The Unity softball team completed a perfect season and pushed its two-year winning streak to 27 games, thanks to a dominating 8-1 victory over the Oakwood School on Thursday.

The game was tight until the fifth inning, when Unity (14-0), leading 2-1, broke through. Through a mix of big hits and defensive errors, the Warriors scored five runs in the fifth. A pair of RBI triples with two outs, from Unity’s Grace Rose and Casey Michelli, highlighted the outburst of runs. Michelli added a double in the top of the seventh to help score the Warriors’ eighth and final run.

Unity pitchers Macy Main and Chloe Boyd tag-teamed to shut down Oakwood’s bats. Main pitched the first 4.1 innings to get the win, while Boyd closed out the final 2.2 innings for the save. They combined for nine strikeouts in the game.

Unity doesn’t belong to a conference, meaning it isn’t eligible for postseason play, but the Warriors can take solace in the fact they were perfect this year.

Washington track outruns competition

WASHINGTON—Powered by several season-best and personal-best performances in front of a home crowd, Washington’s boys’ and girls’ track and field teams ran away from the competition in the final meet of the season on Thursday.

Washington’s boys’ team scored 140 points to place first and finish the season 12-0. The Pam Pack last ended the season undefeated in 2014. Kinston (52.5), North Lenoir (38.5) and West Craven (19) finished behind Washington.

The Washington girls’ team finished with 109 points to take first and finish the year at 10-2. Kinston (89) took second place, followed by West Craven (23) and North Lenoir (20).

The relay teams led the way for Washington on Thursday. All the relay teams, 4×100 meter, 4×200, 4×400 and 4×800, for the boys’ and girls’ track teams set new personal records. The boys’ 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 teams, along with the girls’ 4×200 and 4×400 teams, all qualified for the 2A East Regional track and field meet.

But it wasn’t just the relay teams that performed strongly. The boys’ discus throwers, Kevon Langley, Chase Ambrose and T.J. Williams, saved their season-best throws for this final meet of the regular season.

Washington will host the Eastern Carolina 2A Conference Championship on Wednesday, with the first event starting at 11 a.m.

Northside demolishes Tarboro

TARBORO—The Northside baseball team continued its torrid run of late with a convincing 10-0 victory on the road against Tarboro on Thursday.

Northside (14-5, 7-2) did all of its damage against Tarboro (8-11, 6-4) in the first two innings, as well as the final two. The Panthers opened the game by scoring twice and then adding four more runs in the second inning. No changes were made to the score, until Northside added a run in the sixth and closed out the game by scoring three in the seventh.

Seniors Reg Bishop and Matthew Marslender led the way for the Panthers. The duo both had two hits on the night, as well as two RBI.

Starting pitcher Zachary Griffin got the win for Northside. He lasted six innings, allowing only three hits and striking out 12 Vikings.

Riverside drops Southside

WILLIAMSTON—The Riverside baseball team continued its conference supremacy on Thursday, beating Southside 6-3 at home.

Riverside (13-6, 8-0) struck first in the Coastal Plains 1A matchup, scoring twice in the first inning. Southside (7-12, 3-7) didn’t back down, scoring a run in the third and fourth to tie the game. But the Knights showed why they’re the conference leaders and responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, making the score 4-2 in Riverside’s favor.

The Seahawks managed to score another run, but the Knights cast aside any doubts of victory, scoring twice in the sixth.

Reese Bullock led Riverside by going 2-for-3 at the plate. Hunter Kinion also picked up two RBI on his only hit of the game.

Southside’s Will Warren had a team-high two hits in the game, while also picking up an RBI. Grant Jensen and Dylan Humbles also chipped in with an RBI each.