HERTFORD — Perquimans erupted for seven runs in the sixth inning to rally past East Bladen 10-9 on Tuesday in the third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A baseball playoffs.
Perquimans (22-5) and seeded third in 1A East advances to Friday’s fourth round against Wednesday’s winner between No. 7 Chatham Charter (15-8) and No. 15 Falls Lake (12-11).
East Bladen, which was seeded sixth in 1A East, ended its season with a 13-11 record. The Eagles placed third in the Waccamaw 1A/2A Conference and were the league’s top 1A team.
East Bladen had everything going its way through four innings, leading 9-3. A six-run fourth inning, highlighted by Jayce Hatcher’s two-run home run to left, gave the Eagles the six-run advantage. Aiden Hargrove had a run-producing single during the rally, another run scored on a wild pitch and two runs scored on a wild pitch on a missed third strike.
Davion Lewis started on the mound for East Bladen and allowed three runs on five hits, struck out five and walked five in 4.2 innings before reaching his 105-pitch limit. Easton Bostic yielded five runs in 0.2 innings and Isaiah Lee allowed the final two runs in the Perquimans sixth and was charged with the loss.
East Bladen’s Hatcher, who was the winning pitcher in Friday’s 4-1 win against Oxford Prep, was not eligible to pitch Tuesday. The sophomore went 3-for 4 with three runs batted in, including the home run. Zach Sholar went 4-for-4 with three runs scored for the Eagles. Lewis had two hits and scored twice. Lee was 1-for-3 with a pair of runs driven in. Andrew Musselwhite and Hargrove each had a hit.
Maddux Thatch pitched two scoreless innings, striking out four and not allowing hit, to get the win for Perquimans. Ben Brown and Sean Saunders each had two hits to lead the Pirates.
Author: Sonny Jones
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