Eastside Spartans pitcher Braelyn Hall authored a page of VHSL softball history Friday morning by throwing a perfect game in the Class 1 semifinals.
How did the 5-foot-9 senior right-hander celebrate Friday night?
鈥淚 watched video and studied the hitters of our opponent in the championship game,鈥 Hall said.
By Saturday afternoon, Hall had earned folk hero status among the avid Southwest Virginia softball fans.
With a dizzying array of pitch selections, Hall recorded 14 strikeouts and allowed just three hits as Eastside posted a 3-0 win over the Auburn Eagles in the Class 1 championship at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem.
For the second straight day, Hall was mobbed by joyous Eastside supporters after the game.
鈥淭his type of day is what every little girl dreams of,鈥 Hall said.
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Following the 2024 state title loss to Rye Cove, Hall said she became fixated at gaining redemption.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 get the result we wanted at this point last year, and we all wanted it bad this season,鈥 Hall said. 鈥淲e worked hard all year, then came out prepared this morning and got the job done.鈥
The Eastside Spartans pose for a picture with parents after the Spartans won the VHSL Class 1 softball state championship.聽
In her weekend conquests of Auburn and Buffalo Gap, Hall collected a total of 29 strikeouts with no walks and no runs.
How dominant was Hall on Saturday?
She did not allow a baserunner until the fifth inning and no Auburn batter reached two balls in a count until the fifth. The Eagles entered the day with a team batting average in excess of .400, with 100 extra-base hits.
What was Hall鈥檚 secret sauce?
鈥淚t just came down to grit,鈥 Hall said.
According to Eastside head coach Suzi Atwood, there was no distracting or stopping her Middle Tennessee State bound ace.
鈥淏raelyn was zoned from the moment we boarded the bus to go to Salem earlier this week,鈥 Atwood said. 鈥淚nstead of going out to eat Friday night, she wanted to stay at the motel and go over the Auburn lineup. And by this morning, Braelyn knew all about each of the Auburn batters and was ready to get to work.鈥
Hall was closing in another perfect game until the fifth inning when Hope Wilson reached on a pop fly single to left field.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 thinking about it (the perfect game) at that point. I was just trying to get the job done,鈥 Hall said.
Eastside collected a total of seven hits against Auburn senior right-hander McKenzie Booth. Dakota Clay and Mallory Durham set the pace with two hits apiece.
The Spartans took a 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the first inning. Following singles from Clay and Zoe Sartin, Clay hustled home on a passed ball.
Lexi Bond, the No. 9 batter in the Eastside lineup, delivered a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the second inning after a double from Durham. Eastside then added an insurance run in the fourth inning on another sacrifice fly from Bond.
鈥淲e had a couple of baserunning miscues, but I thought we played well overall,鈥 Atwood said.
Auburn fans had reason for excitement in the seventh inning.
After Ariel Mullins reached on an infield error, Hope Wilson collected an infield single down the third base line.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 worried,鈥 Hall said. 鈥淚 knew my teammates had my back.鈥
Hall culminated her Salem adventure in style. She retired the No. 2 batter on a ground out and closed the game with back-to-back strikeouts.
Sophomore Hope Wilson led Auburn with two singles, while Faith Wilson collected the other hit. Hope Wilson finished the season with 15 home runs and 59 runs driven in.
Auburn has set a high standard for softball programs across Virginia in recent years.
Behind ace pitcher Kirsten Fleet, the Eagles reeled off six straight Region 1C crowns and four consecutive state VHSL Class 1 state crowns before falling in the 2024 Class 1 quarterfinals to Rye Cove and ace right-hander Eden Muncy.
The Eagles were stymied by another Southwest Virginia sensation on Saturday.
鈥淲e faced Braelyn a couple years ago. We got her that day, and she has improved since then,鈥 fourth-year Auburn coach Tim Smoot said. 鈥淏raelyn is a really talented kid who will do well at the next level.
鈥淲e have a good hitting team. That didn鈥檛 show today quite so well, but our tank was a little empty following a hard-fought (win) in the heat on Friday.鈥
Auburn (22-5) earned a wild 4-3 victory over Rappahannock in Friday鈥檚 other semifinal.
鈥淭ake nothing away from Eastside,鈥 Smoot said. They did what they needed to win a close game, and we gave everything we had until the final out.
Auburn must replace five seniors. Booth has committed to play at the University of Lynchburg.
鈥淢cKenzie has had a great career, and she helped us win a state title as a freshman,鈥 Smoot said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got a really good group of young kids coming next year, so we hope to be back here.鈥
Rachel Smoot, daughter of the head coach, played softball at Emory & Henry.
The always busy Interstate 81 route from far Southwest Virginia to Salem featured a number of cars from the coalfields and beyond early Saturday morning.
鈥淭here were some doubts if all our fans could make it to Salem in time for the 9 a.m. start, but I knew they would be here,鈥 Atwood said. 鈥淥ur community really bonds together in support of our program and that support means a lot to us. This win is for our fans.鈥
The six Eastside seniors lingered at the sprawling Moyer Complex Saturday morning before venturing to a Salem steak house for a victory meal.
鈥淲e鈥檝e played softball together since we were babies and it means everything to finish my high school career by winning the state title with this group,鈥 Hall said.
Auburn 000 000 0鈥0 3 0
Eastside 110 100 x鈥3 7 1
Booth and H. Wilson. Hall and Compton. W-Hall. L-Booth.
