South Point Beats Northeast Guilford For NCHSAA 3-A Baseball Title

June 4, 2011

NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

STATE 3-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES—GAME THREE

SOUTH POINT BEATS NORTHEAST GUILFORD IN THIRD AND FINAL GAME

RALEIGH– Jeffrey Springs had two hits and two runs batted in to lead Belmont South Point over Northeast Guilford 8-5 in the third and final game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-A baseball championship series Saturday night at Doak Stadium at North Carolina State University.

Springs was named the championship Most Valuable Player after a dynamite series in which he had seven hits in 11 trips to the plate, including three doubles, knocked in seven runs and also pitched a complete game victory in the opener.

The Red Raiders won the series two games to one and posted a 27-3 record, while Northeast finished 30-3.

The game began as a seesaw affair, with South Point scoring two in the top of the first only to have Northeast string together five hits in the second for a 3-2 advantage. South Point then grabbed a 6-3 lead in the third with four runs, on the strength of two-run singles delivered by Patrick Horne and Chuck Lawing.

A solo homer by Johnny Brown of the Rams cut it to 6-4 in the bottom of the third. Both teams added single runs in the fifth and then Springs had a run-scoring double in the seventh to drive in the final Red Raider run.

It was a wild series, going to a third game after Jaylin Davis blasted a grand slam in the seventh inning earlier on Saturday as Northeast Guilford rallied from five runs down in the final frame to beat South Point 12-11 in game two.

In Friday night’s opening game, South Point rallied from a 6-5 deficit with a seven-run explosion in the sixth and rolled to a 12-6 victory over Northeast Guilford, snapping a Ram 29-game winning streak.

Northeast Guilford was in the NCHSAA finals for the fourth time but first time since 1967, while South Point made its third trip to the championship series but first time since 1994.

The Raleigh Sports Consortium and Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau are serving as host city sponsors for this championship series. Wendy’s is the presenting sponsor of the NCHSAA sports program.

NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

STATE 3-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES—GAME THREE

Doak Field, North Carolina State University

South Point 2 0 4 0 1 0 1—8 11 2

Northeast Guilford0 3 1 0 1 0 0—5 8 2

WP—Andrew Locklear. LP–Jaylin Davis. HR–Johnny Brown, Northeast Guilford.

GAME TWO

NORTHEAST GUILFORD STAGES DRAMATIC RALLY, WINS 12-11

RALEIGH– Jaylin Davis blasted a grand slam in the seventh inning as Northeast Guilford rallied from five runs down in the final frame to beat Belmont South Point 12-11 in the second game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-A baseball championship series Saturday at Doak Stadium at North Carolina State University.

That evened the best of three series at a game apiece, with the final to be played later Saturday night.

Davis, who had five runs batted in for the day, also picked up the victory on the mound as he pitched two innings of effective relief.

Jeffrey Springs had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and three runs batted in for the Rams while Andrew Locklear was three for five with two RBI.

South Point had jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead as the first five Red Raiders to bat came around to score, with a two-run double by Patrick Horne the key blow. And even after the Rams rallied, South Point loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh but failed to score.

South Point is now 26-3 while Northeast is 30-2.

STATE 3-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES—GAME TWO

Doak Field, North Carolina State University

Northeast Guilford 0 2 3 1 0 0 6— 12 9 2

South Point 5 0 3 0 3 0 0— 11 12 2

WP—Jaylin Davis. LP–Aaron Biggerstaff.