Warlassies can’t stop Morehead in playoff opener

Owen softball ends season with 14-1 loss

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
May 12, 2022

There was an air of unfamiliarity surrounding the Owen dugout, May 10, as the Warlassies prepared to host its first NCHSAA 2A Softball Playoff game since 2017. The no. 10 seed Warlassies didn’t know much about the 23rd seeded Morehead Panthers, who made the three-hour trip from Eden to Lake Eden Road.

It would take only three innings of softball to learn that the visiting team’s ranking masked its ability to dominate on the diamond.

The Warlassies entered the postseason with a 12-6 record, coming off a regular season in which they finished third in the Western Highlands Conference. The team, under head coach Pete Ledford and his coaching staff, swept rival Madison for the first time since 2011, earning an automatic playoff bid as the top 2A team in the split conference.

Morehead, which finished third in the 2A Mid-State Conference, came into the contest with a 14-8 mark.

The Panthers waisted little time getting on the scoreboard, as senior pitcher Maddie Booth connected for her first of two home run against Owen starting pitcher, Addison Bartlett. The Warlassies junior entered the game with an 8-6 record, having struck out 106 batters in 2022.

Owen responded with a run of its own in the home half of the opening inning, as shortstop Ryleigh Ogle put herself in scoring position with her 19th steal of the season. The speedy sophomore scored her 20th run of the campaign on a solid single by fellow sophomore Tinley Clark.

The Warlassies and Panthers would keep each other off the scoreboard in the second inning, but the visiting team opened the flood gates with a 5-run third. Morehead added four runs in the fourth and fifth innings to advance to the second round of the playoffs.

Photos from the NCHSAA 2022 2A Softball Playoff game between Owen and Morehead can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.