Top Teams, Players Set To Do Battle In NCHSAA State Baseball Championship Series

June 4, 2014

Some of the top players and teams in North Carolina high school baseball will be trying to add hardware to their trophy cases this weekend in the 98th annual North Carolina High School Athletic Association state baseball championship series.

The 1-A and 3-A series will get underway on Friday at Five County Stadium, home of the Carolina Mudcats, while the 2-A and 4-A classifications will get their series going on Friday at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. All the series are best-of-three games, and each of the teams in the finals survived best-of-three regional championship series.

In Zebulon, the first game on Friday will start the 1-A series between Whiteville (24-5) and unbeaten East Surry (30-0).

Whiteville and East Surry both have great traditions. Whiteville is in the finals for the ninth time with five previous titles, while East Surry is led by veteran head coach Barry Hall, who recorded his 700th career victory earlier this season.

Zack Pait is one of Whiteville’s top hitters (.337, 5 HR, 32 RBI) and also is 11-2 with a 1.08 ERA while on the mound. East Surry is batting .355 as a team, and one of the big threats for the Cards is Madison Chilton (.455, 5 HR, 25 RBI).

The second game Friday night at Five County Stadium will open the 3-A series between Monroe Piedmont (21-8) and Hampstead Topsail (19-8).

Piedmont won last year’s 2-A title over North Brunswick before moving up in realignment. Seniors Hunter Jones and Nigel Hester lead the Panthers at the plate. East Carolina signee Trent Hansley paces Topsail both in hitting (.414, 8 HR, 23 RBI) and on the mound (7-4, 1.53 ERA, 104 strikeouts in 64 innings).

Action in Greensboro gets underway with the 4-A opener between Richmond Senior (23-7-1) and West Forsyth (27-5). Richmond is in the finals for the fourth time overall but first since 2000, while West qualified for the finals for the first time since 2002.

One of the Richmond Raider standouts is Cody Leviner, who is batting .355 and also has been tough on the mound (9-2, 1.61 ERA, 68 strikeouts in 74 innings). Alex Vanderstock swings a big bat for the Titans (.333, 8 HR, 24 RBI) and seven West players will continue playing in college, including Michael Bates (12-1, 1.28 ERA), who will play at UNC-Greensboro.

In the 2-A series, Claremont Bunker Hill (26-5) makes its first baseball championship visit, against the Raiders of Midway (25-4), who was the state runner-up for the 1-A title last year but also moved up in realignment. Senior Colton Chapman and junior Cameron Chapman do a lot for the Bears, with Colton batting .453 with nine homers while also sporting a 12-1 mound mark with a 1.08 ERA.

Midway’s Austin Hardison is batting .426 and Dylan Hardison is unbeaten on the mound at 9-0 with a 0.92 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 45 innings.

The Raleigh Sports Consortium and Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau are serving as host city sponsors for the games at Five County.

NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

2014 STATE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES—98th ANNUAL

all series best of three games

FIVE COUNTY STADIUM, ZEBULON

CLASS 1-A CHAMPIONSHIP: WHITEVILLE (24-5) vs. EAST SURRY (30-0)

Game 1: Friday, June 6 at 5 pm

Game 2: Saturday, June 7 at 11 am

Game 3: if necessary, Saturday, June 7 at 5 pm

CLASS 3-A CHAMPIONSHIP: HAMPSTEAD TOPSAIL (19-8) vs. MONROE PIEDMONT (21-8)

Game 1: Friday, June 6, 8 pm