RALEIGH, N.C. – T.C. Roberson got going early, as the Rams drew three walks in the opening inning off New Hanover starter, Blake Walston, before Will Butcher smashed a shot to left field for a grand slam that put the Rams ahead for good 4-0 in the opening inning. The Rams kept swinging, racking up 10 runs on their way to a 10-4 victory and series sweep of the Wildcats.
T.C. Roberson piled on five more runs in the second inning, as Jacob McCarthy led off with a double before Garrett Blaylock singled him home. Blaylock went 2 for 2 on the afternoon including the RBI and a double, he was named the series MVP for his heroics over the weekend.
The Rams kept the pressure on after the Blaylock single as Collin Watt scored on an RBI groundout by Ty Gossett to make it 6-0. Butcher dug back in, lofting a soft fly into shallow center that fell in for a single scoring Blaylock from third. A Spencer Keehan single to center plated two more and T.C. Roberson had a 9-0 lead through an inning and a half.
New Hanover started to claw back in the third as Jac Croom led off the inning with a double. A pair of errors by Blaylock in the inning helped keep the inning going and the Wildcats pushed three across the plate to trim the advantage to 9-3.
In the fourth, T.C. Roberson got a leadoff walk by Gossett. Gossett came around to score with a Butcher double to right center, making it 10-3 Rams. The Wildcats tacked on one run in the seventh, but did not threaten to get back in the game.
The win gave T.C. Roberson the school’s fourth baseball state title, all at the 3A level. The last title for the Rams came back in 2002.
