North Myrtle Beach Times Serving our Community and the Grand Strand for over 50 years
By John Smithson
The NMB Lady Chiefs softball team celebrated their senior night last Monday at The Hank with a 10-0 win over Myrtle Beach in their final region game of the spring. The Chiefs had one last game on the schedule at Loris last Friday and lost 13-3 to the Lady Lions.
After the Chiefs seniors were celebrated prior to Monday’s game, the Chiefs batters scored 10 runs on eleven hits while senior pitcher Sierra Bendik threw a two-hit shutout in the five-inning game.
The Chiefs scored three runs in the bottom of the first. With one out Capri Laughlin was safe on a missed third strike by the catcher and Sadie Olson had an infield hit. Both runners stole a base and then scored on Lilly Carney’s first home run of the year over the right field fence.
The Chiefs added four more runs in the bottom of the third inning. Olson doubled and Carney walked. They both scored on a Hadley Leonhardt single. Izzy Bruno then singled, and after both runners stole a base, Faithlynn Lewis’s RBI single to right drove both in for a 7-0 Chiefs lead.
In the bottom of the fourth Sadie Olson singled and went to second on a catcher’s error. She stole third and Carney walked and moved to third on catcher’s indifference. Olson scored on Leonhardt’s groundout with Carney moving to third. Bruno singled to drive in Carney for a 9-0 lead.
The Chiefs won it in the bottom of the fifth as they loaded the bases with one out. Bendik had an infield single to short, Carolina Porter walked and Laughlin was safe on a bunt. Olson’s fourth hit of the game drove in Bendik with run number ten and the victory.
Bendik reached a milestone during the game with her 250th strikeout as a Chiefs pitcher. She also got the game ball from coach Krystal Mante. With the region win the Chiefs looked forward to this Mondays’ first round District 3 playoff game, once again against Myrtle Beach at The Hank.
The Chiefs final regular season game last Friday at Loris was against a Lady Lions team with a 20-4 record, with a loss to Aynor and two losses to St. James part of their total.
The Chiefs scored a run on a two-out home run by Sadie Olson for a 1-0 lead. But the Lions came back in the bottom of the first with walks to Black and Spence and a two-run double by Jessie Cartrette part of a three-run first inning and 3-1 lead.
After a scoreless second inning the Lions picked up five more runs against Sierra Bendik in the bottom of the third. A hit batter and double by Spence scored one run. Herring’ s single drove in Spence and Gilbert drove in Spence with a double to center. Bellamie Gore hit a two-run homer for an 8-1 lead.
Sadie Olson hit her second homer in the top of the fourth inning for an 8-2 score, but Carney and Bruno were stranded after singles. The Chiefs added another run on a homer by Carolina Porter in the top of the fifth inning to make it 8-3.
The Lions scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth with only one out. Gore drove in two with a double to left and scored on an error. One more run scored on a Spence single and a walk to Cartrette with the bases loaded. The ten-run rule 13-3 Lions victory.
The Chiefs would play Wednesday against Conway with a win Monday in the first round of the District 3 playoffs.
A big “by the way.” Sadie Olson has been named the Offensive Player of the Year in the 6AAAAA region She has hit seven home runs, batting .481, has a .560 on base percentage, has stolen 22 bases and has scored 31 runs and driven in 25.
