Joella Thomas’ run of dominance has continued into 4A western regional championship series.

The Weddington sophomore silenced Northwest Guilford’s bats in a 1-0 game one victory. The Warriors have now posted four shutouts in five playoff games. They’re outscoring teams 22-1 in that span and find themselves a win away from advancing to the state championship.

A lone run in the game’s first inning was all that it took.

Adriana Lamantia was hit by a pitch to start the home half of the first. Abby Peisker bunted her into scoring position, and Madelyn Miller singled her home.

As expected, the rest of the way was an epic pitchers duel. Bel Varadi only allowed three more hits over her next five innings of work. The Northwest Guilford lefty struck out four and did not allow a walk.

Torey Cago singled in the top of the third for the Vikings’ lone hit of the game. Jenna Copeland earned the team’s only walk when she took a free pass in the fourth.

Thomas not only limited base runners, she limited contact. Of the 23 batters that she faced, 15 struck out.

Weddington can wrap up the series on Thursday when it moves up to Northwest Guilford. In the 4A east, Wake Forest took a 1-0 lead in its series with 1-seed Garner.

Source: highschoolot.com