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New Bern shuts out Havelock
HAVELOCK - New Bern ace pitcher Kelsey Sanfilippo has shouldered a lot of the Bears' weight all season, so it's a key for her to be at the top of her game at the conclusion of the regular season.
Sanfilippo didn't leave any room for doubt that she's up for the challenge in Tuesday's 3-0 New Bern win over Havelock.
The sophomore pitcher struck out 12 batters and allowed three hits with no walks in the shutout win.
"We're going to ride her all the way through the playoffs as far as we can go," New Bern coach Paul Wood said. "She had a little lull in the middle of the season, but she started pitching good again."
"She did her usual good job and we couldn't lay off the high balls," Havelock coach Terry Taylor said of Sanfilippo's effort on the mound. "I don't know whether it's intimidation or lack of discipline, laying off the high pitch."
But Sanfilippo isn't a one-trick pony. She also added two RBIs on a double to left field in the first inning, putting the Bears up 2-0 after singles from Alex and Emily Warren. Sanfilippo finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
The Bears added one more in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly from Meagan Riggs, before they called it a night.
Havelock's Cassie Krotz got the loss on the mound, giving up six hits with four strikeouts and a walk.
Rams' shortstop Natalie Salter led Havelock's offense going 2-for-2 with two singles.
"We hit the ball a little better tonight," Wood said. "That's a couple games in a row we've put the bat on the ball better. We've been working on hitting and that's what we're going to need. To back up Kelsey, we've got to score a couple of runs."
"New Bern played a solid game. Their pitching was there," Taylor said. "I thought we helped them out a little bit in the first inning with a couple balls."
With the win, New Bern (14-8, 9-4 Coastal Conference) put itself in the No. 1 spot in the 4-A side of the Coastal Conference over J.H. Rose. The Bears will face D.H. Conley at home on Thursday.
Havelock (7-13, 2-11) must wait to see how the remaining 3-A schools in the conference fare this week, and hope for a win over West Carteret on Thursday.
Natalie Sayewich can be reached at (252)635-5668 or at nsayewich@freedomenc.com
