By Thomas Grant Jr.
The Region 4-5A softball title is now within the reach of Chapin High School.
A 10-4 victory Wednesday over defending champion Lexington has the Lady Eagles in first place by one game.
Dominant play both on the mound and at the plate has Chapin in the driver’s seat. Pitcher Ella Majchrzak struck out 13 batters and held the Lady Wildcats to two hits.
Offensively senior Andes Dircks posted her second game this season in which he had two home runs and drove in six RBI.
Two nights earlier, Dircks drove in four runs in the 14-1 win over River Bluff. A 2-run homer in the bottom of the third inning achieved a personal milestone as Dircks reached 100 RBI as a Lady Eagles.
Chapin moved into first place after Dutch Fork’s 10-9 comeback win over Lexington a night earlier. Trailing 6-0 through five innings, the Lady Silver Foxes erupted for all of their runs on 10 hits in the sixth inning.
Olivia Hill and Lillie-Grace Moore started the rally with back-to-back singles off Lexington pitcher Haley Manz. Limestone signee Allie Boone followed with an RBI double, and Haley Alderman cleared the bases with a single to make it 6-3.
Grace Fonseca replaced Manz on the mound and immediately gave up a walk to Layla Peppers and an RBI single to Dakota Jenkins to bring Dutch Fork within 6-4.
Abigail Pouliot tied the game with a 2-run single of Manz who returned to the mound. After Ayanna Russell struck out, Hill singled again to bring home Jenkins and put the Lady Silver Foxes ahead 7-6.
The rally continued as Boone brought home two more runs with a single and Moore scored on an error for the 10th run.
Lexington looked to answered in the top of the seventh. Following a Sam Craig RBI single, the bases were loaded with two outs when she was tagged out by Boone at homeplate on a groundball misplayed for an error that scored Hinz.
Dircks continued her torrid hitting this past Saturday in a 13-2 win over Mid-Carolina. She batted 4-4 with 3 RBIs, including a towering 2-run homer in the sixth inning in which the softball travelled over the scoreboard.
This gave Dircks 30 career home runs at Chapin despite missing all of last season due to injury and not playing in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Both Ella Majchzrak, Alana Evans and Reagan Haggard all drove in three runs and Eason Davis went 3-5 for the Lady Eagles.
Photos by Chapin Eagle Club – Chapin’s Andee Dircks
SOCCER
Both Chapin teams are locked in a first-place battle in Region 4-5A.
The boys remained perfect at 4-0 entering the April 16 matchup at Dutch Fork. They are riding a 6-game winning streak which includes two non-region wins over West Florence and Waccamaw.
The Lady Eagles are tied with Lexington following a 1-0 loss to the Lady Wildcats on April 9. They have three games remaining, starting April 16 against Dutch Fork.
SCORBORD TOP 10 SOCCER COACHES POLL
(Girls)
All Classifications
1.Mauldin, 2. Pinewood Prep, 3. Chapin, 4. J.L. Mann, 5. Eastside, 6. Oceanside Collegiate, 7. Lucy Beckham, 8. Wando, 9. Catawba Ridge, 10. Clover
Class 5A
1.Maudlin, 2. Chapin, 3. J.L. Mann, 4. Wando, 5. Clover, 6. Lexington, 7. River Bluff, 8. Blythewood, 9. St. James, 10. West Ashley
(Boys)
All Classifications
1.J.L. Mann, 2. Clover, 3. Cardinal Newman, 4. Catawba Ridge, 5. Oceanside Collegiate, 6. Ashley Ridge, 7. River Bluff, 8. A.C. Flora, 9. Gray Collegiate, 10. St. Joseph’s Catholic School
Class 5A
1.J.L. Mann, 2. Clover, 3. Ashley Ridge, 4. River Bluff, 5. Mauldin, 6. Wando, 7. Stratford, 8. Dutch Fork, 9. Nation Ford, 10. Hillcrest
