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In what has otherwise been an excellent season for Southern Lee baseball, the Cavaliers have not fared well in showcase events this month. The Cavaliers lost decisively in two games at such an event in Hillsborough to start April, and then got hammered by eight runs on the first day of Asheboro’s Easter tournament Monday night.
Southern had to go the distance to get its first win in such an event Tuesday, but they got it done.
Back-to-back singles by Cole Faulk and Christian Cox netted three runs in the top of the seventh inning of the Cavaliers’ game against Wheatmore High School, and turned what was headed for a loss into a 4-3 victory.
Faulk, a senior who joined the Cavaliers before the season, beat out an infield hit with one out to bring in Cooper Moss and reduce Southern’s deficit to 3-2. Cox then stepped to the plate and smashed a liner into center field to bring in Mike Blanks and Faulk. It was the first, and only lead, Southern had in the game.
Bryan McCollum took the field in the bottom of the seventh to finish what he had started. The first Wheatmore batter singled to put the tying run on base, but Cavalier head coach Tommy Harrington stuck with McCollum, and he set down the final three batters in a row for the win.
Southern, which lost 16-8 to Jamestown Ragsdale in Monday’s opener, improved to 13-6 on the season. The Cavaliers are playing this week’s games just for playoff positioning; they are safely into the NCHSAA 3A state playoff field, and can win the 3A half of the Sandhills Athletic Conference next week when they finish conference play with two games against rival Lee County. In fact, Southern is just one game behind 4A Pinecrest for the overall conference lead.
What has been a fine season for the Cavaliers has only been marred by shaky performances in showcase games. The latest one was against Ragsdale, where the Cavaliers led 5-1 going to the bottom of the third, but allowed eight runs in that half-inning. They immediately struck back with three to trail 9-8, but the Tigers pulled away down the stretch in a game that featured 28 hits, 15 of them from Ragsdale. Five different Cavalier pitchers tried to hold down the Tigers, without much success.
Aided by two fielding errors, Wheatmore jumped out in front 2-0 in the first inning against McCollum, while Southern left six men on base in the first three innings without scoring. They finally got on the board in the fourth, when BJ Blanks had a two-out single, stole second base, and scored on a Ben Harrington single.
Wheatmore got another run in the fifth, while Southern kept misfiring on offense. The Cavaliers had the bases loaded with one out in that inning, but grounded into a double play. In the sixth, they squandered a one-out triple from BJ Blanks and again left two men on.
The do-or-die seventh began with Moss being hit by a full-count pitch. Mike Blanks followed with a walk, but Wheatmore secured the first out before Faulk came up and legged out the infield hit on a 1-2 offering.
The Cavaliers faced Southwestern Randolph on Wednesday night in the final game of the showcase. The game ended after press time for this issue.
Several Southern players had big days at the plate against Ragsdale. Harrington, Mike Blanks, and Luke Waters all had two hits, and Spencer Stephens was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Moss and Mike Blanks each drove in two runs, and McCollum scored twice.
The Cavaliers’ next game will be Tuesday night at Lee County. Depending on the outcome of other games, a win there might lock down the top 3A playoff berth in the SAC.
Continue reading...
Southern had to go the distance to get its first win in such an event Tuesday, but they got it done.
Back-to-back singles by Cole Faulk and Christian Cox netted three runs in the top of the seventh inning of the Cavaliers’ game against Wheatmore High School, and turned what was headed for a loss into a 4-3 victory.
Faulk, a senior who joined the Cavaliers before the season, beat out an infield hit with one out to bring in Cooper Moss and reduce Southern’s deficit to 3-2. Cox then stepped to the plate and smashed a liner into center field to bring in Mike Blanks and Faulk. It was the first, and only lead, Southern had in the game.
Bryan McCollum took the field in the bottom of the seventh to finish what he had started. The first Wheatmore batter singled to put the tying run on base, but Cavalier head coach Tommy Harrington stuck with McCollum, and he set down the final three batters in a row for the win.
Southern, which lost 16-8 to Jamestown Ragsdale in Monday’s opener, improved to 13-6 on the season. The Cavaliers are playing this week’s games just for playoff positioning; they are safely into the NCHSAA 3A state playoff field, and can win the 3A half of the Sandhills Athletic Conference next week when they finish conference play with two games against rival Lee County. In fact, Southern is just one game behind 4A Pinecrest for the overall conference lead.
What has been a fine season for the Cavaliers has only been marred by shaky performances in showcase games. The latest one was against Ragsdale, where the Cavaliers led 5-1 going to the bottom of the third, but allowed eight runs in that half-inning. They immediately struck back with three to trail 9-8, but the Tigers pulled away down the stretch in a game that featured 28 hits, 15 of them from Ragsdale. Five different Cavalier pitchers tried to hold down the Tigers, without much success.
Aided by two fielding errors, Wheatmore jumped out in front 2-0 in the first inning against McCollum, while Southern left six men on base in the first three innings without scoring. They finally got on the board in the fourth, when BJ Blanks had a two-out single, stole second base, and scored on a Ben Harrington single.
Wheatmore got another run in the fifth, while Southern kept misfiring on offense. The Cavaliers had the bases loaded with one out in that inning, but grounded into a double play. In the sixth, they squandered a one-out triple from BJ Blanks and again left two men on.
The do-or-die seventh began with Moss being hit by a full-count pitch. Mike Blanks followed with a walk, but Wheatmore secured the first out before Faulk came up and legged out the infield hit on a 1-2 offering.
The Cavaliers faced Southwestern Randolph on Wednesday night in the final game of the showcase. The game ended after press time for this issue.
Several Southern players had big days at the plate against Ragsdale. Harrington, Mike Blanks, and Luke Waters all had two hits, and Spencer Stephens was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Moss and Mike Blanks each drove in two runs, and McCollum scored twice.
The Cavaliers’ next game will be Tuesday night at Lee County. Depending on the outcome of other games, a win there might lock down the top 3A playoff berth in the SAC.
Continue reading...
