Photo by Sefton Ipock

Crescent's Kelsey Davis covers her face as she walks to the dugout as members of the Hanahan softball team celebrate their 6-4 win for the 2A state championship Wednesday in Iva.

IVA — To win the school’s first softball state title, Hanahan had to do something that no two teams have done this season: beat Crescent twice in a row.

Behind timely hitting and the pitching of senior Laura Moore, Hanahan beat Crescent 6-4 Wednesday night to take the best-of-three AA state championship series 2-0. The Lady Hawks beat Crescent 4-3 on Monday. Crescent’s only other losses this season were to Hillcrest, which advanced to the AAAA Upper State semifinals.

“It’s nothing but joy right now, I’m at a loss for words,” Hanahan coach Chris Pope said. “I just want to go celebrate with my team.”

It was the first time Hanahan’s beat Crescent in four meetings for the state championship. And the Lady Hawks prevented Crescent from adding an 18th state title to its trophy case.

“They were more aggressive defensively and offensively than a lot of teams we played,” Crescent senior pitcher Bailee Lee said.

But this was the deepest Crescent’s advanced in the playoffs since it was state runnerup in 2003.

Moore allowed only four baserunners after the second inning, two walks and two singles. She struck out six, walked three, and hit a three-run home run in the first inning.

Moore silenced a Crescent team that outscored its previous playoff opponents 43-3 to arrive in the series.

“We had them on, we just couldn’t get them in,” Crescent coach Gary Adams said of the five runners Crescent stranded. “The girls tried their best, and that’s just the way it goes sometimes.”

Crescent took the lead in the second with a three-run triple from junior right fielder JeRita Adger, and sophomore second baseman Kelsey Davis singled home Adger in the next at-bat.

But Pope said he didn’t think about taking out his three-time all-state pitcher.

“I knew that we could do it,” Moore said. “We just had to put our mind to it and not get frustrated.”

The Lady Tigers didn’t threaten after the fourth, while Hanahan added three more in the fifth on four singles and a walk.

“I think my momentum and my wanting to win made me push so much harder,” Moore said.

Davis relieved Lee in the fifth after Lee allowed singles to the first three batters. After a sacrifice, Hanahan senior shortstop Kelley Dillon hit a two-run single to give Moore more than enough cushion.

“We have nothing but respect for him and his team,” Pope said of Adams. “But we felt all year long that we were the best team in the state.”

Adams said he plans to return for a 33rd season next year.

“I don’t look out there and say this many years, a lot depends on health and how I feel,” he said. “The Lord’s good to me, and gives me good health. I enjoy the girls, especially the kind of kids we’ve got.”

SOFTBALL

Hanahan 6, Crecent 4

Hanahan 300 030 0 — 6 9 0

Crescent 040 000 0 — 4 8 3

WP — Laura Moore; LP — Bailee Lee (16-4) Top hitters: H: Ashton Jarrett 2-4, 2B, RBI, Kelley Dillon 2-4, 2 RBI, Laura Moore 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; C: JeRita Adger 2-4, 3B, 3 RBI, Kelsey Davis 3-4, RBI,

Records: Hanahan (26-5); Crescent (24-4)