ELIZABETHTOWN – Currituck County rallied for 4 runs in the top of the seventh inning and edged East Bladen 6-5 Wednesday night in the opening round of the NCHSAA Class 2A baseball play-offs.
Eagle senior Alex Coates took a 5-2 lead into the seventh, but after singles by Wesley Parker and Austin Capps, Coates was relieved by sophomore Xavier Wooten. One-out later, Aaron Flowers’ single plated Parker.
A throwing error on Matt Indoe’s fielder’s choice brought in Capps, and Shane Davis’ squeeze bunt scored Flowers with the tying run. On that play Eagle catcher Kyle Tatum threw out Indoe at third base. Davis moved up on a wild pitch then raced home with the go-ahead run when David Beaumont dumped a single into centerfield.
Davis relieved Knight starting pitcher Daniel Wood in the sixth inning and struck out the side in a pair of scoreless innings allowing only an infield hit to Tatum in the sixth and a 2-out walk to pinch-hitter Devan Stocks in the seventh.
Capps yanked a 2-out double into the left field corner in the first inning that drove in Parker who had singled.
Sophomore Sincere Smith ripped a single through the middle and stole second base in the East half of the first. Smith advanced to third as sophomore Brooks McGill reached base on an error. The Knight right fielder dove to catch Tatum’s sacrifice fly, but Smith tagged up and scored after the catch to tie the game 1-1.
Wooten reached on an error to start the Eagle fourth inning, and sophomore Ty Watkins swatted a single over shortstop. Wooten went to third on senior Nikita Owens’ fly ball then slid home just ahead of the tag on Coates’ sacrifice fly to centerfield for a 2-1 East lead.
Capps walloped a long double to centerfield in the Currituck fifth and scored on Flowers’ single to centerfield to tie the score 2-2.
McGill drew a one-out walk in the Eagle fifth inning, and Tatum laced a single to centerfield. Wooten’s infield hit loaded the bases, before Watkins smacked an opposite-field single to left that scored McGill.
Owens launched a sacrifice fly to right-centerfield that drove in Tatum. Coates was hit by a pitch, and Bedsole knocked in Wooten with a single to left field that stretched the Eagle lead to 5-2.
Coates pitched 6-plus innings and allowed 4 runs – 3 earned – on 8 hits and 4 walks, while striking out three. Wooten worked an inning and gave up 2 unearned runs on 2 hits.
Tatum batted 2-3 with a run scored and a run batted in. Watkins and Bedsole were both 2-4 at the plate with an rbi each. Wooten and Smith added one hit each. Wooten scored twice, and Smith and McGill scored one run each. Owens and Coates had one rbi each.
Capps batted 3-4 with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored and an rbi to lead Currituck. Flowers finished 2-2 at the plate with 2 rbi’s. Parker was 2-4 and scored twice.
Coach Russell Priest’s Eagles conclude their season with a 15-7 record and a Four County Conference Championship.
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