LUMBERTON — The Lumberton softball team closed out the regular season the way it played much of the campaign: with a dominant win.

The Pirates took an early lead and held Purnell Swett to one hit in a 13-0, five-inning victory on senior night.

Lumberton (20-3, 13-1 United-8 Conference) previously clinched the United-8 regular-season championship outright.

The Pirates scored four runs in the first inning, three in the second, four in the third and two in the fourth.

Lumberton’s seniors each contributed to the win. Halona Sampson allowed one hit with six strikeouts and no walks in five innings pitched, and also had a hit at the plate. Aniya Merritt had two hits including a double and drew two walks, had an RBI and stole two bases, tying her own single-season program steals record. Alona Hanna had two hits and two RBIs, Tiara Stueck and Alyssa Stone each doubled, with Stueck earning two RBIs and Stone one. Carlee Register had a sacrifice fly.

Not to be outdone by their older teammates, three underclassmen had multi-hit games. Jaelyn Hammond was 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs. Ava Hanna and Cameron Honeycutt each had two hits including a double, with Hanna earning an RBI. Jayla Hunt also had a triple and an RBI for the Pirates.

Jayla Graham had the lone hit for Purnell Swett (9-12, 7-7 United-8), a bloop single. Alexa Lowry was the losing pitcher for the Rams.

The United-8 Tournament begins Tuesday, with games played at the higher seed. Lumberton hosts Douglas Byrd; Purnell Swett will play at Gray’s Creek.

St. Pauls softball wins at Clinton

The St. Pauls softball team earned a 15-5 win over Clinton Friday in a six-inning road Southeastern Athletic Conference game.

St. Pauls (16-4, 8-0 Southeastern) scored three runs in the first, two in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth and seven in the sixth. Clinton (5-12, 1-6 Southeastern) scored five runs in the sixth.

St. Pauls now faces Midway, who shares a perfect record in the Southeastern, twice next week with the league title at stake. The teams meet Tuesday in Newton Grove and Friday in St. Pauls.

Clinton won the baseball contest between the schools 9-3.

St. Pauls (6-14, 2-6 Southeastern) scored three runs in the first but did not score the rest of the game. Clinton (12-5, 4-4 Southeastern) answered with two in the first, three in the second, three in the fourth and one in the fifth.

The St. Pauls baseball team also faces Midway twice next week, beginning Tuesday on the road.