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GOLDSBORO – Ahoskie Christian School will need to make a bit of room in their trophy case to add shiny new pieces of hardware.

The Lady Warriors scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning here Saturday, pulling away from a narrow 4-3 lead to defeat Community Christian, 9-3, in the championship game of the Mid-Atlantic Christian Athletic Association’s softball tournament. The final two rounds of the tournament were held at Faith Christian School in Goldsboro.

Community Christian, the top-seeded team in the tourney, was undefeated entering Saturday’s game.

Ahoskie Christian, seeded #2, used a balanced offensive attack as eight players had at least one hit in the game and also got a stellar pitching performance from their ace, Casey Piland. She worked all seven innings on the mound, surrendering three runs off eight hits, walking three and fanning five batters.

“This was a great group of young ladies to work with,” said ACS head coach Joey Parker. “With just one senior and the majority of our players in the 7^th and 8^th grades, we were a very young team. They progressed during the year. We hit the ball better as the year went on and played solid on defense. I’m so proud to see all of their hard work and their teamwork pay off at the end with the championship trophy.”

Parker also credited the efforts of coaches Don Lassiter, Matt Bradley, and Clayton Farmer.

“Don was a big help with getting all of our practices scheduled and he, along with Brandy Johnson, a parent of one of our players, kept the stats updated on the Max Preps website,” Parker said. “Clayton helped with the scorebook, as did Mamie Chamblee, another one of our parents, and Matt kept all of us motivated.”

That motivation was needed on Saturday as Ahoskie Christian squared off against an unbeaten team. Additionally, Community Christian had defeated Ahoskie Christian, 10-7, back on March 31 in a regular season game. From that point forward, Ahoskie Christian won 10 of its next 11 games, including nine straight to close out the season.

In the championship game, the Lady Warriors never trailed. They built a 3-1 lead by scoring twice in the top of the fourth inning where, with one out, Myah Bradley singled, and Kinsley Dunlow smacked a double. One out later, Lili Farmer and Braelyn Chamblee both reached base safely to drive home Bradley and Dunlow.

Community Christian closed to within 4-3 by scoring twice in the bottom of the sixth, but Ahoskie met that challenge head-on.

In the top of the seventh, Cally Piland and Keira Lassiter both drew walks, setting the table for RBI hits from Lauren Dickens, Bradley, and Paige Terry while two runs scored on an error.

Casey Piland retired three straight batters in the bottom of the seventh and her teammates swarmed the mound to celebrate the championship win.

Ahoskie Christian collected 11 hits in the game, led by Bradley (3-for-4) and Chamblee (2-for-4).

Casey Piland, Cally Piland, Dickens, Dunlow, Terry, and Lassiter each had one hit.

In Friday’s semifinals, Ahoskie Christian defeated third-seeded New Bern Christian Academy, 15-5, in five innings.

Bradley led the way with three hits, three runs scored, and two RBIs. Dunlow added a double, two RBIs, and scored three times. Dickens, Terry, and Lassiter each scored two runs.

During an awards ceremony following Saturday’s championship game, Casey Piland was named as the Tournament MVP and was joined by Lassiter on the All-Tournament team.

Lassiter was also named All-Conference, joined by teammates Dickens and Dunlow.

However, the biggest award came with the announcement that Ahoskie had earned the MACAA’s Christian Testimony Award. That’s why they need more room in the school’s trophy case!