DUNCAN, S.C. – The Barton softball team (27-21) survived to the third day of the 2023 Conference Carolinas Championship after splitting its two games on Saturday at Tyger River Park. Barton, the fifth seed in the tournament, downed top-seeded King (33-21) by a 2-1 score earlier in the day before falling to third-seeded Francis Marion (40-11), 7-4, in the nightcap.
Barton will face the winner of King and second-seeded Lees-McRae (32-17) in an elimination game Sunday at 4:00 p.m.
Barton 2, King 1
Barton junior
Miranda Holmes (Godwin, N.C.) (8-7) won her second straight game after allowing just one unearned run while striking out seven batters in five innings of work and senior
Rilee Jones (Norfolk, Va.) pitched two scoreless innings to register her first save of the year.
The Bulldogs broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning with a pair of runs highlighted by an RBI groundout from senior outfielder
Savannah Branch (Shallotte, N.C.). King's Savana Luper (Salem, Va.) fell to 12-5 after taking the loss.
Francis Marion 7, Barton 4
The Patriots broke a four-all tie with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning including the game-winning, two-run triple from Makayla Cuthbertson (Indian Trail, N.C.) as Francis Marion moved into the championship game on Monday and snapped Barton's seven-game winning streak. Cuthbertson finished with three runs batted in to lead the Patriots.
The Bulldogs battled back to tie the contest at four with three runs of their own in the fifth frame. Barton senior second baseman
Emily Bell (Bunn, N.C.) finished with two hits and two runs batted in while freshman outfielder
Makenzie Cyzick (Dayton, N.C.) scored twice for Barton in the losing effort.
Jones (8-6) took the loss for the Bulldogs while Danielle Karacson (Bartow, Fla.) hit a two-run home run and Rachel Davis (Mechanicsville, Va.) improved to 17-8 after earning the victory in relief for Francis Marion.
