West Stanly sweeps Midway to win fourth straight NCHSAA 2-A softball state championship

DURHAM, NORTH Carolina – West Stanly blanked the Midway 10-0 on Saturday at Duke Softball Stadium to sweep the NCHSAA 2-A softball championship series and win its fourth straight title.

The Colts started hot and turned 17 hits into 10 runs and ended the game after six innings.

Lily Huneycutt, who was named MVP in the series, tossed a complete game in the circle and allowed just one hit, one walk and struck out 11 batters.

In the bottom of the first inning, Teagan Ritchie hit a one-out triple and scored in the next at-bat when Huneycutt singled. Payton Little homered in the next at-bat to take a quick 3-0 lead.

That lead ballooned to 8-0 in the second inning thanks to RBIs from Kristen Smith, Huneycutt, Carmen McRae and Aliyah Rush. The game ended in the bottom of the sixth as Brooklyn Lovin singled to center and Rush came around to score on an error on the play.

The win gives West Stanly 30 straight wins this season and six NCHSAA state championships in fast pitch softball since the switch from slow pitch in 1996. The Colts have now won four straight NCHSAA 2A Softball Championships (2019, Covid, 2021, 2022, 2023).

In Friday's first game, West Stanly used a three-run second inning to power their way to a 4-2 win.

Midway struck first as Mallory Baggett hit a line drive to center that scored Samantha Carter in the bottom of the first inning. The Colts answered in the top of the second as Elizabeth Ingle hit a solo homer and both Payton Watson and Rebecca Clark scored later in the inning after Payton Little hit a sharp grounder to left field.

Kristen Smith added a sac fly for the Colts in the third to push the lead to three runs. The Raiders pulled one back in the bottom of the third as Carter hit a leadoff single and then scored after Lainey Hughes reached on an error but that proved to be the final run of the game.

In the circle, Huneycutt came on in relief and earned the win for hurling the final five innings and allowing one run on two hits while striking out three batters.

The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing and promoting good sportsmanship and has partnered with the NC Farm Bureau to honor two student-athletes at each of this year’s championships with Sportsmanship Awards for excellence throughout the season. The 2A Softball Sportsmanship Award winners were Rebecca Clark from West Stanly and Sarah Autry from Midway.