NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
STATE 4-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES – GAME ONE
EAST FORSYTH EDGES LANEY 4-3 ON ORENSTEIN HR
RALEIGH– Shortstop Evan Orenstein’s solo homer in the bottom of the fifth broke a 3-3 tie and lifted East Forsyth to a 4-3 victory over Wilmington Laney on Friday night in the first game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 4-A baseball championship series at Doak Field on the campus of N.C. State.
The win pushed East’s record to 24-8 and moved the Fighting Eagles to within one victory of taking the best of three series. The 94th annual baseball championships will continue with game two scheduled in the 4-A series for Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Pete Schultz went the distance on the mound for East to get his ninth win in 11 decisions, as he scattered eight hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter. Mike Hilla (4-3) was charged with the loss.
The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the second and then made it 3-0 in the third on a two-run homer by sophomore Jacob Watts.
Laney countered with a pair of runs in the fourth, one on a solo homer by Luke Tendler, his fifth of the year, and then the Bucs added a run in the fifth to tie the game and set the stage for Orenstein’s heroics.
Corbin Bednarcyzk had two hits for Laney, now 19-10 overall.
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 4-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES — GAME ONE
Doak Field, N.C. State University
Wilmington Laney 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 — 3 8 0
East Forsyth 0 1 2 0 1 0 x– 4 9 0
WP–Pete Schultz (9-2). LP–Mike Hilla (4-3). HR: Laney–Luke Tendler, solo in 4th; East Forysth–Jacob Watts, 2-run HR in 3rd; Evan Orenstein, solo in 5th.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
STATE 2-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES – GAME ONE
EAST RUTHERFORD DOWNS GRAHAM 5-1 IN 2-A OPENER
RALEIGH — Drew Reynolds had two hits and pitched a complete game victory on Friday night to lead East Rutherford to a 5-1 victory over Graham in the opening game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 2-A baseball championship series at Doak Field at North Carolina State University.
Reynolds fanned eight and limited the Red Devils to five hits as he improved his record to 13-1 on the season.
East took a 1-0 lead in the opening inning, but Graham came back to tie it at 1-1 on a run-scoring single by Rigeberto Mendoza in the top of the fourth.
The Cavaliers then broke open the tie game with a four-run fifth inning. Reynolds had a key RBI single in the frame and senior third baseman Dakotah Thomas rolled a seeing-eye single through the right side to plate two more runs.
Lucas Owens, Mark McFarland and Reynolds led the Cavaliers with two hits apiece as East improved its record to 29-2 on the season. East is seeking its fifth NCHSAA baseball state championship and is in the finals for the third time in four years. Graham, now 20-12, got two hits apiece from Blake Throneburg and Cody Dix.
Dix (4-8) was the losing pitcher.
Game two in the best of three 2-A series is scheduled for Saturday morning at eleven o’clock.
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 2-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES – GAME ONE
Doak Field, N.C. State University
Graham 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 5 0
East Rutherford 1 0 0 0 4 0 x — 5 7 0
WP–Drew Reynolds (13-1). LP–Cody Dix (4-8).
