While other teams were juggling their pitching staffs trying to find the right combination for a series, there was little doubt as to who would be taking the ball every inning for the South Brunswick Cougars — and for good reason.

Junior right Kina Davis has worked all but 28 innings this spring for the Cougars, and has developed into one of the state’s elite hurlers — along with carrying a potent bat.

Davis was dominant en route to earning the Most Valuable Player Award as the Cougars (27-4) wrapped up their first state championship in school history Saturday with a 2-1 comeback victory over Kings Mountain in the second and final game of the best-of-three series in the Class 3-A State Playoffs at the Duke University Softball Complex.

After firing a shutout and blasting the game-winning homer in Friday’s opener, Davis finished the job in Game Two by tossing a three-hitter and striking out 15 — along with starting a score-tying rally in the bottom of the sixth.

Davis’ lone blemish came in the top of the fifth when Kings Mountain’s Madeline Huffman — also the Mountaineers’ successful starting pitcher — laced a longball that doinked off the flag pole beyond the left-field fence to give Kings Mountain (24-3) a 1-0 advantage.

Huffman was cruising until the bottom of the sixth when Davis ripped a one-out double to right-center field. After a strikeout, South Brunswick’s Carly Clewis tied the score with a clutch two-strike single.

After Davis worked a hitless top of the seventh, the Cougars came to the plate in the bottom of the frame with a chance to make some history for the Southport school.

Kendra Goodwin wasted no time started the rally as she blooped a leadoff single to left field. After a successful strikeout, Huffman was on the verge of escaping the jam with two outs, but South Brunswick’s Tabatha Martin had other ideas.

Going with an outside pitch, the right-handed Martin stroked a single as Goodwin sped home with the championship-winning run.

And here’s the best part for South Brunswick and its fans — the Cougars don’t have a senior on their roster as they will look for a repeat in 2025 with Davis once again leading the way.

Davis finished the spring with a sparkling 0.53 earned-run average to go with 21 victories and a whopping 343 strikeouts. She also delivered 10 home runs — none bigger than the eventual Game One winner — while batting .421.

Source: highschoolot.com