Aggressive base-running, fine fielding and dominating pitching helped Polk County edge South Stokes, 2-1, at Columbus on Wednesday, to reach Saturday’s round two of the state varsity softball playoffs.

At press time, game time and opponent were not known, but the Wolverines will host.

Against South Stokes, Polk posted both runs in the first, with Autumn Owen scoring what proved to be the game-winner.

She singled and stole second, to put runners on second and third. With the lead runner having scored, Owen advanced to third on a sacrifice fly, then alertly dashed home when the throw got by the catcher.

“She (Owen) made that happen,” Head Coach Jeff Wilson observed.

For seven innings, Polk’s Ashley Scruggs used an assortment of fastballs, screwballs, and other off-speed offerings to keep the Sauras off-balance.

“We’re a pretty aggressive running team,” Wilson said.

Wilson noted that before the game, he told his players that he expected a one-run game.

Fielding was one major component of the win.

“Our infield made plays,” Wilson noted. “Our outfield ran balls down.”

He described Scruggs’s pitching as “patient-aggressive.”

Perhaps Polk’s fielding gem of the day came in the sixth. A single to center scored a South Stokes runner to make it a 2-1 game, when, after the throw home, catcher Ashley Kropp fired to second to nail the lead runner, who’d rounded the bag too far.

Wilson labeled that play “humongous.”