AREA ROUNDUP: Demons sent home by Rampants

GREENVILLE — High school baseball teams from Wilson have not fared well traditionally playing in Greenville, particularly against J.H. Rose High.

The Rampants lived up to their considerable reputation as the East region’s overall No. 1 seed with 10-0 win over Fike, the No. 32 seed, in the first round of the NCHSAA 3-A playoffs Tuesday, May 7.

Senior pitchers Andrew Wallen and Matthew Conway combined on the one-hit shutout for the Rampants of legendary head coach Ronald Vincent as they climbed into the second round. Rose, the champion of the 3-A/4-A Big Carolina Conference, will take a 22-2 mark into Friday’s game against No. 17-seeded North Brunswick.

“We faced a giant today,” said Fike head coach Jay Wheeler, who has played and coached against Vincent’s Rose teams in a career spanning five decades. “The legacy that ‘RV’ has created and still creates is such a well-oiled machine. The sheer depth and the leverage he has with the number of players in his program makes winning difficult for other teams.”

That depth was evident in the Rose batting order as nine different players got a hit. Owen Simmons and Jay Tyndall each doubled and drove in two runs.

Rose tagged Fike starter Evan Ferrell for four runs in the second inning and led 9-0 through three innings. Daniel Holloman had the lone hit off Wallen, who walked three and struck out five in four innings.

“I was happy that we could expose some of our returners and younger guys to playoff baseball, especially in Greenville,” said Wheeler, whose team finished 8-15 in a return to the playoffs. “I hope they remember this atmosphere and it can motivate them to want to create that in Wilson.”

It was the final game for seniors Caleb Maddrey, Jake Flowers, Thomas Buchan and Brady Kalamajka, who has been injured all season.

Sellers, Ferrell help Tigers get past Hobgood Charter

Junior DeAndre Sellers collected three of Wilson Prep’s 11 hits and senior Kaden Ferrell struck out 10 Hobgood Charter batters as the Tigers advanced to the second round of the NCHSAA 1-A playoffs with an 8-2 victory at home Tuesday.

The 1-A Tar-Roanoke Athletic Conference-champion Tigers, seeded No. 2 out of 32 1-A East teams, won their 19th straight game to take a 19-2 record into their second-round matchup Friday, May 10, against either Warren County or Northwest Halifax, both from the Tar-Roanoke.

Ferrell allowed just one hit in 6 1/3 innings as he gave up one earned run among his two allowed. He walked three. Freshman Abdiel Tavarez got the last two outs.

Sellers was 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored for the Tigers, who pounded out 11 hits. Senior Gage Lockhart was 2 for 3 with a triple and an RBI. Freshman Bryson McNeil was 1 for 3 with a double and 2 RBIs while junior Jackson Lynch doubled in two at-bats and drove in a run. Freshman Zac Long was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.

Firebirds fall short of first-round upset

BENSON — A huge upset was there for the taking for the Southern Nash baseball team in the first round of the NCHSAA 3-A playoffs Tuesday at East No. 2 seed West Johnston, which pulled out a 1-0 victory.

The Firebirds, the fifth-place team in the 2-A/3-A Big East Conference, thought their season was over in the Big East tournament last week but slipped into the state 3-A playoffs as the No. 31 seed.

Senior pitcher Blake Strickland was outstanding on the mound in his six innings of work. He allowed three hits on 62 pitches in the loss. Keegan Wallace and Landon Brown each had a hit for the Firebirds, who finished 11-15.

The 3-A Quad County Conference-champion Wildcats will take an 18-2 mark into Friday’s home game against QCC rival Hunt in the second round.

SOFTBALL

Ladybirds get lucky 21st win in thrilling comeback

STANHOPE — An unbeaten season and their state championship dreams were about to fall by the wayside for Southern Nash, which found itself in the unprecedented position of trailing in the final inning Tuesday at home in the first round of the NCHSAA 3-A playoffs.

The Ladybirds, unbeaten in 20 games and the No. 2 East seed, trailed 5-0 the bottom of the fourth inning and 5-3 entering the seventh inning to No. 31 Greenville Rose (8-14) of the 3-A/4-A Big Carolina Conference. Freshman Noel Dobbins slugged a two-strike pitch for a two-run home run to tie the game and Carlee Beckham scored the winning run on Savanna Baines grounder for the walk-off.

Kaylie Love’s two-run single put the 2-A/3-A Big East Conference regular-season and tournament champions on the scoreboard in the fourth. Senior Addison Brumfield’s RBI single further chipped into the Rose advantage before the seventh-inning dramatics.

Sarah Ewers led off with a walk before Dobbins’ big blast. Beckham drew a walk and took second on freshman pinch hitter Paisley Baker’s sacrifice bunt before moving to third on Love’s infield hit.

Fifteen-seeded Eastern Alamance (15-8), a 2-1 victor over No. 18 Croatan on Tuesday, will be the Ladybirds’ second-round guest Friday.

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