DUNN- Junior left-hander Christian Gainey pitched a 3-hit shutout and struck out 6 batters in 5 innings Friday night as Midway defeated East Bladen 10-0 in the 2nd round of the NCHSAA 2-A baseball playoffs.
Singles by Hunter Tyndall and Trey Gregory sandwiched around a walk and an error produced a pair of Raider runs in the 1st inning.
Four consecutive singles by Carson Tew, Davis Williams, Tripp Westbrook and Wyatt Lucas plus an error and Gregory’s sacrifice fly resulted in 4 more Midway runs in the 3rd inning as the lead grew to 6-0.
Singles by Tew, Westbrook, Lucas and Tyndall plus 2 Eagle errors plated 4 more runs in the 5th inning and ended the game.
Eagle senior Marlan Davis drew a lead-off walk to start the game, and senior Zamar Lewis belted a 1-out single to right field, but a pair of fly-outs ended the East Bladen 1st inning.
Senior Coleman Tatum drew a 2-out walk in the Eagle 2nd inning, and junior Tyler Johnson was hit by a pitch, but a fly-out stranded the runners.
Junior Lee Barnes raked a single to center field in East Bladen 4th inning, and senior Evan Pait laced a 2-out single to center field in the 5th inning for the other Eagle hit.
Junior Jake Futrell started on the mound for the Eagles and pitched 4-plus innings allowing 9 runs – 6 earned – on 10 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2. Senior Coleman Tatum relieved in the 5th inning and allowed an unearned run on 2 hits.
Westbrook batted 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored to lead the Raider hitters. Tew was also 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored. Tyndall finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Lucas batted 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Gregory singled and had 2 RBIs. Williams singled and scored 2 runs.
The Eagles concluded their season with a 12-11 record. The Raiders improved to 22-2 on the season and will host East Carteret in the 3rd round.
East Bladen 000 00 — 0- 3-5
Midway 240 04 — 10-12-0
