Cardinals come from losers' bracket to win state championship
SCISA Class 3A Softball State Championship • May 10, 2008
By George Kaupp

Photo by Jim Marczesky The 2008 SCISA 3A softball state champion Cardinal Newman Cardinals (l- r): Front Row - Alex Watson, Katherine Gaulin, Lauren McCarter, Sam August, Joanna Watson, Courtney Poston,Teresa Lattimore, Sarah Shull; Back Row - Erin Brown, Alex August, Meredith Sexton, Annalise Hughen, Rian Tompkins, Nazley Wilson, Tori August, Carolyn Barnick; Coaches - Joel Hughen, Steve Cook, Head Coach Doug Frye, and Mike Rucker.

Nazley Wilson pitched five complete game victories, helping the Cardinal Newman Cardinals rally from the losers' bracket to defeat the Laurence Manning Swampcats twice in a row to claim the SCISA 3A state softball championship on Saturday, May 10th at Pine Grove Softball Complex in Lexington.

The Cardinals, the second seed in their side of the bracket, won their first two games over Thomas Sumter (Friday night) and Orangeburg Prep. In the first game against the Swampcats, however, six Cardinal errors led to Laurence Manning's 8- 1 win. This dropped Cardinal Newman into the losers' bracket against Northwood.

Nazley Wilson pitched five complete game victories in the tournament for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals fell behind 3- 0 early, but rallied to tie the game in the sixth on singles by Lauren McCarter and Meredith Sexton. An error allowed McCarter to score, then Annalise Hughen hit a two- run double. The Cardinals won the game in the bottom of the seventh on a wild throw, allowing Erin Brown to score.

Cardinal Newman then had to play Laurence Manning again and beat them twice to win the championship. The first game was scoreless until the fifth, when Alex Watson drew a walk, Sarah Shull singled, and Hughen again delivered a two- run double. Hughen later scored on a passed ball to make it 3- 0 Cardinals. The Swampcats scored once in the bottom of the fifth, but the Cardinals got the run right back on an RBI single by Joanna Watson. Wilson retired the last seven in a row for the win.

The final game of the night started with a coin flip. Cardinal Newman won the toss, elected to hit first, and then proceeded to score four runs in the first.

Cardinal Newman's Analise Hughen slides safely into home.

Sam August started the scoring with a two- run single, and Sexton and Alex Watson followed with run- scoring singles. The Swampcats got an unearned run in the bottom of the first, which the Cardinals answered in the top of the second with an RBI single by Joanna Watson. Alex Watson got her second RBI single in the third, and after Laurence Manning scored single runs in both the third and fourth, the score stood at 6- 3 in favor of the Cardinals.

Then the dam burst. Cardinal Newman sent 12 batters to the plate in the fifth, scoring eight runs. Meredith Sexton drove in one with a single, Alex Watson got her third RBI single of the game, and Hughen hit another double, this one good for three runs. Tori and Sam August followed with run- scoring singles, and Courtney Poston crossed home plate on a wild pitch to complete the scoring. Wilson set the Swampcats down in the bottom of the fifth, and the Cardinals celebrated their state championship.

Photos by Jim Marczesky Lauren McCarter makes a play at second base for Cardinal Newman.