Summer 2011 - Cannon School

14 | CANNON MAGAZINE
“The state title was a remarkable ending to Cannon’s winning streak.”
Super Cougars
The varsity softball team wraps up a 17-game streak with a state championship.
By: Jay Edwards, The Charlotte Observer
UNC Charlotte physics professor Patrick Moyer knows all
about the laws of nature.
But it is still hard for Moyer, also the Cannon varsity softball
coach, to explain what has happened to his Cougar team over
the past few months.
Cannon (19-2) won 17 straight games since late March,
capping the streak with a two-game sweep of High Point
Christian to win the NCISAA 3A state championship May 21.
“We thought we could compete with the best teams in the
state and get to the Final Four,” said Moyer. “But we never
talked about championships. I don’t think coaches ever plan
on winning 17 games in a row.”
A lot of the Cougars’ success came from the dynamic
duo of senior catcher Julie Harriss and junior pitcher
Mackenzie Moyer.
Harriss, who has signed with Radford University, hit .483 with
six home runs and 28 RBI on the season. Harriss’ battery mate,
Moyer, batted .569 with four home runs and 40 RBI, while
going 16-2 on the mound with 155 strikeouts and a 1.39 ERA.
Harriss and Moyer, who are close friends on and off the field,
regularly competed to see who was the best at every aspect of
the game.
“Julie and Kenzie would hit like 20 home runs every day in
practice and it was a great competition to watch,” said the
elder Moyer, who’s also Mackenzie’s father. “I think the other
girls wanted to be just as good as them, to hit the ball just as
hard, made everybody a better player.”
The Cougars were hardly a two-player team, as another duo
in senior twins Ally and Courtney Reynolds, who play second
and third base respectively, were also big at the plate and in the
field. Junior Stephanie Gray also had a good year at the plate,
hitting .431 with 26 RBIs.
“In the beginning of the season, we knew we had a lot of talent
and athletes,” Harriss said. “At first, it was a little rough, but we
really found ourselves.”
Cannon played a tough schedule that included a sweep of the
always tough CISAA conference.
But no matter what they did in the regular season, the
Cougars knew they would ultimately be judged by their
postseason performance.
After beating Country Day 15-0 in the first round of the
playoffs, the Cannon softball team ran into an obstacle as they
prepared to face rival Charlotte Latin in the state semifinals
in Raleigh. The game was scheduled only two hours after the
seniors participated in Cannon’s graduation.
After NCISAA officials allowed them to move the game back
two hours, the seniors traveled to North Raleigh Christian
after the ceremony, joining their teammates an hour before
game time.
“It was really tough to transition between the emotion of
your high school graduation to a playoff game,” said Harriss.
“The first game was tough. I don’t think we were in the
right mindset.”
Despite the emotions, the Cougars defeated Latin in a
tight 4-3 game to move on to the next round of the doubleelimination
tournament.
That same night, against High Point Christian, Moyer tossed a
four-hit complete game shutout while Harriss smacked a firstinning
home run to give the Cougars all they needed to win.
“I knew it was going to be a long day and a long weekend,” said
Harriss. “But in the second game that night we came out like a
completely different team. After we won that game, I knew we
were going to win it all.”
The next day, the Cougars wasted no time against High Point
Christian, as Harriss again crushed a first-inning home run to
give her team a lead they would never relinquish.
After High Point Christian closed to 3-1, Moyer closed the
door in the bottom of the fifth, this time at the plate, hitting a
two-run homer to the left field fence for a 5-1 advantage and a
state title.
It was a remarkable ending to the Cannon winning streak.
“I didn’t even know we had won 17 straight games,”
said Harriss.
“I kept saying, ‘We’re not losing again this season,’ and we just
kept on winning.”
This article, published on June 5, 2011, is reprinted with
permission of The Charlotte Observer/Lake Norman News.
Photos by Chuck Harriss and Sergio Tovar. CANNON MAGAZINE | 15
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