PILOT MOUNTAIN — After bombing its way through the Northwest 1A Conference tournament last week, predictably East Surry would trounce it’s first round competition in the state tournament, right?

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, this was not the case.

The number one seeded East slid by visiting Chatham Central by the skin of it’s teeth Tuesday, coming away with the 1-0 win behind a strong outing from junior pitcher Hayley Shelton.

Shelton one-hit Chatham Central and finished with 16 strikeouts.

But on the other end, the Cardinals had their own troubles at the plate, managing just one hit.

After the game East Surry coach Derrick Hill said he was not pleased with his team’s less-than-stellar performance.

“From my view point, we were not ready to play,” Hill said. “I don’t understand that for the life of me. The first round of the state playoffs and you’re not ready to play.”

Hill gave Shelton credit for keeping his team in the game.

“If she doesn’t do what she did, then we are in trouble,” he said.

The Cardinals only run of the game came on Chatham Central defensive miscues and heady baserunning by speedster Courtney Simmons.

In the bottom of the third Simmons reached on an error, then moved to second on a passed ball. Simmons then stole third by baiting the Chatham Central catcher into making a throw to second base. The Central shortstop misplayed the ball, allowing Simmons to speed home.

Hill said his biggest disappointment came from the fact his team had faced tougher competition and had better results throughout the season.

“Tonight was not the best pitcher we’ve seen all year but we fell right into her trap the whole ballgame,” Hill said. “We are swinging at stuff we shouldn’t be swinging at and letting strikes go by, which is going to be a point of emphasis at practice tomorrow.”

Hill also said that with being the defending 1A state champions and a well-known softball power, the Cardinals can expect every team’s best shot from here on out.

“We’ve got to make these kids understand that they have a big target on their back,” he said. “It’s a feather in someone’s cap to come into Pilot Mountain and beat us, especially when the so-called experts think we were the best team. Tonight we weren’t the best team. If we play like we did tonight, we are going to get beat at some point. The only bright side tonight is we survived and advanced.”

The Cardinals will host the winner of Mount Airy-Jordan Matthews Friday at 7 p.m.

East Surry 1,

Chatham Central 0

Chatham Central 000 000 0 — 0 1 2

East Surry 001 000 0 — 1 1 0

WP: Hayley Shelton; LP: Rodriguez