RALEIGH - Hannah Angel was named the Most Valuable Player as she led her Forbush Falcons to their third consecutive championship of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 2-A softball tournament on Sunday at the Walnut Creek Softball Complex.

Forbush downed North Lenoir 3-1 behind Angel’s three-hit, 15-strikeout pitching. The Forbush star also set a North Carolina single-season strikeout record with a whopping 443, breaking the old mark of 429 held by Crystal Cox of Central Cabarrus, now a standout at the University of North Carolina.

Forbush was in the state championship series for the 12th time, now with five state titles and seven runner-up finishes, and the Falcons made their fourth consecutive trip to Walnut Creek. Forbush won the state 2-A title in both 2002 and ‘03.

Brittany Snow’s three-run homer in the third provided all the runs that Forbush would need in the final. Randi Moulton’s RBI for North cut the lead to 3-1 in the sixth after Angel had held North Lenoir without a hit through five innings, but that was as close as the Lady Hawks would come.

Alli Childress and Caroline Wood each had two hits for the Falcons, 30-1 overall. Morgan Worthington was tagged with the pitching loss for North Lenoir, which finished 28-3.

Angel, the Most Valuable Player in last year’s state championship, led the Falcons past East Davidson 6-1 in their opening contest on Saturday, striking out 13 and also going two for three at the plate, driving in two runs. Then she fired a one-hit shutout against North Moore in the winner’s bracket final later that evening, whiffing 13.

North Lenoir had advanced into the championship game in an exciting extra-inning affair, outlasting East Davidson in nine innings by a 10-6 count earlier on Sunday. East Davidson had taken a 4-1 lead in the fifth with Amanda Beck and Katie Freeman each having hits to drive in two runs apiece. But North came roaring back with a four-spot of its own in the top of the sixth for a 5-4 advantage.

A solo home run by Ashley Jones in the seventh for East Davidson knotted the contest at 5-5 and forced extra innings, but North Lenoir put it away with five in its half of the ninth.

Worthington had three hits and Chaney Lynch two for North Lenoir, while Paige Coleman was a perfect four-for-four at the plate for East Davidson. East ended its season with a 22-6 record.

Elizabeth City Northeastern, which dropped both of its Saturday games to be eliminated from the double-elimination tournament, finished fourth.