Knightdale girls swamped Durham-Jordan 19-4 in the April 23 softball game and also scored another win the next day against Smithfield-Selma. But the team lost to Southeast Raleigh April 25.

Leading the Knights were Lexie Brock (2-3, four runs scored, three RBI), Samantha Cox (2-4, three runs scored, two RBI) and Paige Peterson (2-3, two runs scored, two RBI).

Heather Johnson was the winning pitcher and is now 2-2 on the mound.

The very next day the Knights faced a tough Smithfield-Selma team but managed to pull away with a one-run victory.

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth against SSS, lead-off batter Brock doubled over the head of the left-fielder, Cox singled to right field, and Hannah Short bombed a double to left center field, tying the game.

On an 0-2 pitch, Kayla Boggs bunted Short to third base, and Short made it home on an infield single by Peterson.

Boggs (6-6) recorded the win on the mound, retiring the Spartans in the seventh with help from a spectacular running catch from right fielder Christina Fischer.

“There are many reasons to be proud of our performance tonight, but I am most impressed with the fact that we did not strike out one of their batters,” Knightdale coach Ben Vessa said. “Defensively, we were as solid as we’ve been this year, and that is what gave us a chance to win in the late innings.”

Wrapping up the week’s games, Knightdale’s Friday meeting with Southeast Raleigh was won by one run as well, but the Bulldogs came out on top, 4-3.

The Lady Knights took a 1-0 lead in the first on a single from Brock, a botched pick-off attempt that sent Brock to third, and a single from Boggs.

After Southeast tied the game on an RBI double by Juanita Jernigan, the Knights scored two more in the second playing the small ball.

Consecutive bunt singles by Devin Hill and Anna Powell, a throwing error, and a one-out double by Cox gave Knightdale a 3-1 lead, one it held until the fifth inning.

But with two outs, Southeast mounted a charge. With runners on first and second, Shanna Unger hit a bomb over center fielder Peterson's head, which scored the two on base and tied the game.

Then, in an attempt to intentionally walk Jernigan, she reached out over the plate, smacked a ground ball up the middle, and beat the throw to first base as the go-ahead run scored.

“I still don’t know how she did that,” Vessa said.

Bulldog pitcher Kristen Strickland struck out 16 in the game, including striking out the row in the seventh to preserve the one run win.

“Strickland was dominant today,” Vessa said. “From the third inning on, we were outmatched.”

The loss caused Knightdale to drop to 8-9 overall, 4-7 in the Greater Neuse River Conference.