Class AAAA softball: Wando defeats North Augusta, 3-1

Wando girls softball coach Steve Legette isn’t a huge fan of playing small ball, but when it’s the playoffs, you do whatever you have to do to win and advance.

Wando pitcher Danica Newton threw seven strong innings, giving up just three hits and striking out six, to lead the Warriors past North Augusta, 3-1, Wednesday afternoon at the Wando sports complex.

The Warriors (22-6) will take on Summerville on Saturday in the opening game of the Class AAAA Lower State semifinals. North Augusta ended its season at 23-5.

Facing one of the top pitchers in the state in North Augusta’s Sidney Seigler, the Warriors managed just four hits and were forced to rely on their baserunning and bunting abilities to advance to the next round.

“It’s not the style I like to play,” Legette said. “We’ve got some girls that can swing the bat, but it’s the playoffs, so no one cares about style points. You do whatever you have to do to survive and win and move on.”

Newton (19-4) mixed her pitches well and never allowed back-to-back hits.

The Yellow Jackets scored their only run in the fifth, capitalizing on a Wando error.

The Warriors answered with three runs of their own in the fifth, taking advantage of two errors from the Yellow Jackets.

“(Seigler) just didn’t give us a whole lot to hit,” Leggette said. “We had to generate our runs. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was effective.”

North Augusta 000 010 0 — 1 3 5

Wando 000 030 x — 3 4 3
WP: Danica Newton (19-4). LP: Sidney Seigler.