NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
STATE 4-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES–GAME THREE
LANEY WINS DRAMATIC EXTRA INNING GAME TO CLINCH NCHSAA 4-A TITLE
RALEIGH — Caleb Wells hit his only home run of the season Saturday evening to propel Wilmington Laney to a dramatic extra-inning 6-5 victory over East Forsyth in the third and final 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.
Wells’ eighth-inning homer with two outs, after East had come from four runs back to tie the game, lifted the Buccaneers to the state championship. Both teams were playing in the NCHSAA baseball finals for the first time.
Senior Kyle Legates of Laney, who pitched in all three games and also had some timely hits, was voted the Most Valuable Player of the championship series.
East Forsyth had rallied from 5-1 down with a four-run sixth, as Ben Anderson came through with a two-run double and a single by Luke Dunlap drove home two more to knot the game at 5-5. Dunlap had opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first.
The Buccaneers snapped a 1-1 tie in the third inning when Brandon Manley delivered a bases-loaded double into the left field corner to chase home three runs.
Wells had two hits to lead Laney while Shane Dickerson and Dunlap had two hits apiece for the Eagles.
Two relief pitchers were the pitchers of record, as Ryan LaGrange got the win while Evan Orenstein was charged with the loss.
Laney had evened the series earlier on Saturday as Jeremy Bland and Dallas Perdue collected three hits apiece to lead the Bucs to a 6-3 victory. East won the first game of the series Friday night by a 4-3 count when Orenstein’s solo homer in the bottom of the fifth broke a 3-3 deadlock.
Laney completed a 21-10 season while East Forsyth finished at 24-10.
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 THREE
Doak Field, N.C. State University
Wilmington Laney 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 1 — 6 8 2
East Forsyth 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 0– 5 9 2
WP–Ryan LaGrange. LP–Evan Orenstein. HR–East Forsyth, Luke Dunlap in 1st with 0 on; Laney, Caleb Wells in 8th with 0 on.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
STATE 4-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES–GAME TWO
LANEY EVENS SERIES WITH 6-3 TRIUMPH OVER EAST FORSYTH
RALEIGH– Jeremy Bland and Dallas Perdue had three hits apiece as Wilmington Laney defeated East Forsyth 6-3 on Saturday afternoon in the second 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.
That evened the best of three series at one game apiece.
Bland had a run-scoring single in the opening frame to put Laney up 1-0, but East tied it in the third. Then Ryan LaGrange delivered a solo home run in the bottom of the third to give the Buccaneers a lead they would not relinquish.
Laney put together some timely two-out hits, including a double by Bland, to score two in the fourth and then added a pair of runs in the fifth on a three hits and a throwing error.
The Eagles closed to within 6-3 in the sixth on a two-run single by Jacob Watts. Landon O’Dell led East Forsyth with three hits in four trips.
Kyle Leggett picked up the pitching victory while Shane Dickerson was the loser. East slipped to 24-9 overall while Laney improved to 20-10.
East won the first game of the series on Friday night by a 4-3 count when shortstop Evan Orenstein’s solo homer in the bottom of the fifth broke a 3-3 tie.
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 TWO
Doak Field, N.C. State University
East Forsyth 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 — 3 8 1
Wilmington Laney 1 0 1 2 2 0 x — 6 11 2
WP–Kyle Leggett. LP–Shane Dickerson (8-4). HR–Laney, Ryan LaGrange in 3rd, 0 on.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
STATE 1-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES–GAME TWO
WEST WILKES EVENS SERIES WITH 14-10 SLUGFEST WIN
ZEBULON — Tyler Stotler and Grafton Church had four hits apiece to lead West Wilkes as the Blackhawks outslugged Dixon 14-10 at Five County Stadium on Saturday in the second game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 1-A baseball championship series.
That evened the series at one game apiece with the third game slated for Saturday at 5 p.m. The first game of the series on Friday night was another wild one, as Dixon’s Rookie Davis pitched a no-hitter but walked 13 as the Bulldogs took an 8-3 decision.
West Wilkes fell behind 5-0 in the first inning of game two as the first five Dixon batters reached base and scored, but the Blackhawks battled back with five of their own in the second, keyed by a bases-loaded triple by Scott Gambill that plated three runs and a two-run single by Ethan Church.
West then took command with a four-run fifth, with Statler delivering a run-scoring double and Logan Hallock a sacrifice fly among the key blows.
Stotler was four for five with three singles, a double and two RBI, while Grafton Church was perfect with four hits in four trips and scored three times. Ethan Church was three for three for West, which banged out 15 hits.
Dixon’s Pat Batchelor, who was the losing pitcher, had a double and single in three at-bats and drove home three runs while Rookie Davis was two for two. Diixon’s record slipped to 25-6 while West is now 22-12.
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 1-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES–GAME TWO
Five County Stadium, Zebulon
West Wilkes 0 5 2 2 4 1 0 –14 15 0
Dixon 5 0 2 1 0 2 0 — 10 10 3
WP–Logan Hallock (5-3). LP–Pat Batchelor (11-2).
