STATE 1-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES—GAME ONE
PRINCETON SCORES FOUR IN SIXTH TO BEAT EAST SURRY IN 1-A
ZEBULON—Princeton broke a 3-3 tie with four runs in the sixth and went on to beat East Surry 7-3 in the opening game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 1-A baseball championship series at Five County Stadium on Friday.
Junior starting pitcher Ryan Daughtry picked up on the victory on the mound for the Bulldogs and also had two hits to lead Princeton to its 24th victory against seven defeats. East Surry slipped to 25-9.
Princeton, in its fifth NCHSAA state baseball championship, moved to within one game of its third state crown. Game two in the best-of-three series is set for Saturday morning at eleven o’clock. Game three, if necessary, would be played Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m.
Princeton took advantage of East Surry miscues in the field to score three unearned runs and open up a 3-0 lead, but the Cardinals battled back to tie with three in their half of the fifth. Jordan Jessup and Joe Joyce had run-scoring hits in the frame for East.
But Princeton came back with four runs in its half of the sixth to put the game away, with the key blows a run-scoring triple by Andrew Cobb and a run-scoring double by Dustin Pate.
Colin Parker also had two hits for the winners to up his season’s average to an even .400, while Andrew Beane, Jessup and Joyce each had a pair of hits for East Surry. Jonathan Bullington was the losing pitcher for the Cardinals.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
STATE 1-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES—GAME ONE
Five County Stadium, Zebulon
East Surry 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 — 3 8 4
Princeton 1 0 2 0 0 4 x — 7 8 1
WP—Ryan Daughtry. LP—Jonathan Bullington.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
STATE 2-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES—GAME ONE
RALEIGH – Senior pitcher Stihl Sowers fired a three-hit shutout and helped his own cause with a two-run homer to lead defending state champion North Lenoir to a 4-0 triumph over East Rutherford on Friday night in the opening game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 2-A baseball championship series at Doak Field on the N.C. State campus.
Sowers,who was the MVP of the 2006 championship series, blasted his two-run shot in the opening inning and then kept the powerful East Rutherford attack at bay. The Cavaliers had entered the game with a team batting average of .408.
Sowers fanned eight in picking up his seventh win of the year against no losses and carried a no-hitter into the fifth.
Cullen Park and Daniel Goodnight each had singles in that frame for the Cavaliers, but Sowers pitched out of trouble. Zeke Blanton had the only other East Rutherford hit.
Ryan Leach went the distance on the mound for East and was charged with the loss, allowing just three hits and fanning five.
East Rutherford dropped to 29-2 overall and the Cavaliers had a 16-game winning streak snapped. Sowers also ended the East streak of scoring at least 10 runs a game at seven. North Lenoir is now 28-3 and won its 10th straight.
Game two in the series is Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. If necessary, game three would be played at 8 p.m. on Saturday night, or at 5 p.m. if a third game is not necessary in the 3-A series also being played at Doak Field.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
STATE 2-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES—GAME ONE
Doak Field at Dail Park, North Carolina State University
East Rutherford 0 0 0 0 0 0 0—0 3 2
North Lenoir 2 0 1 0 0 1 x—4 3 1
WP—Stihl Sowers (7-0). LP—Ryan Leach (9-2). HR—Stihl Sowers (NL), 1st with one on.
STATE 3-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES—GAME ONE
SASSER’S PITCHING, ROSE’S HOMER HELP LIFT AYCOCK TO 9-3 VICTORY
RALEIGH — Grant Sasser pitched six innings of four-hit baseball and Jay Rose had a key three-run homer to lead Pikeville Charles B. Aycock to a 9-3 victory over Southeast Guilford in the first game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-A baseball championship series on Friday at Doak Field on the N.C. State campus.
The win improved Aycock’s record to 30-4 and moved the Golden Falcons to within one win of its first state baseball title since 1974. Southeast dropped to 23-6.
Game two in the best-of-three series is set for Saturday morning at eleven o’clock. Game three, if necessary, would be played Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m.
Sasser won his 10th decision on the year against no losses, allowing just one run and fanning seven. He pitched out of one jam in the second inning when the Golden Falcons turned a double play behind him with the bases loaded.
Then Aycock erupted for four runs in the home half of the third, keyed by the three-run blast by junior Rose. Rose went two for four with four runs batted in.
Southeast cut the margin to 5-1 on a solo homer by Jeff Medley in the sixth, but then Aycock put it away with four more runs in the bottom of the sixth, the key blow a two-run triple by Zack Wright.
Garrett Davis was three for four at the plate for Aycock with two RBI and two stolen bases, while Rose, Wright and Bill Edgerton each had two hits.
Southeast got two more runs in the seventh on solo home runs by Justin Venable and Ben Areno, Areno getting his seventh homer of the year.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
STATE 3-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES—GAME ONE
Doak Field at Dail Park, North Carolina State University
Southeast Guilford 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 – 3 6 0
Charles B. Aycock 0 0 4 0 1 4 x — 9 13 0
WP—Grant Sasser (10-0). LP—Austin Moyer (9-2). HR—Jay Rose (CBA), 3rd with two on; Jeff Medley (SEG), 6th solo; Justin Venable (SEG), 7th solo, Ben Areno (SEG), 7th solo.
STATE 4-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES—GAME ONE
SOUTH CALDWELL RALLIES FOR VICTORY
ZEBULON— South Caldwell rallied for four unearned runs in the seventh inning and upended Wilmington Ashley 4-1 Friday night in the first game of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 4-A baseball championship series at Five County Stadium.
Senior Madison Bumgarner, a rugged 6-5, 220-pound pitcher, struck out 12 and scattered six hits in picking up the pitching victory. Bumgarner also had a pair of hits for the winners.
Ashley led 1-0 entering the seventh, when the Spartans loaded the bases with two outs. But a pair of errors on a ground ball wound up clearing the bases and lifting South to victory. Ashley hurt itself with five errors.
The Spartans, now 30-4, moved to within a game of the state championship, with game two in the series is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at two o’clock. A third game, if necessary, will be Saturday at 8 p.m. or will be played at 5 p.m. if no third game is needed in the 1-A series also being played at Doak Field.
Daniel Coffey also had two hits for the winners.
Justin Bradley was the losing pitcher for the Screaming Eagles, who dropped to 24-6 overall.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
STATE 4-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES—GAME ONE
Five County Stadium, Zebulon
South Caldwell 0 0 0 0 0 0 4—4 8 0
Wilmington Ashley 0 0 1 0 0 0 0—1 6 5
WP—Madison Bumgarner (12-1). LP—Justin Bradley (9-2).
