East Bladen’s Eagles, the No. 17 seed in the East, will travel to top-seeded Midway on Friday at 7 p.m. in the second round of the NCHSAA Class 2A baseball playoffs.
Coach Russell Priest’s Eagles, the runners-up in the Three Rivers Conference, pounded out 18 hits in a 12-2 mercy rule victory over First Flight of Kill Devil Hills in Tuesday’s playoff opener.
Senior Spencer Scott pitched five-plus strong innings and batted 3-for-4 with three runs batted in, and sophomore Lefrederick Wooten provided a 1-2-3 inning of relief and batted 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Junior Gabe Barber knocked in four runs with a 3-for-5 performance.
Sophomore Zach Meares was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, senior Dan Tatum batted 2-for-3 with an RBI double and two runs scored and senior Greyson Heustess finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Sophomore catcher Brady Hollingsworth slammed a two-run double and batted 2-for-4.
Midway defeated SouthWest Edgecombe 7-1 on Tuesday night behind a two-hitter from sophomore Sawyer Sutton who struck out ten batters. Senior Carson Calcutt led the Raider hitters, batting 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
Junior Eli Culbreth finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI’s, and senior Brayden Coats was also 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.
Senior Chandler Williford is the ace of the Midway pitching staff with an 8-0 record, three shutouts and a 1.80 earned run average. Sutton is 5-1 with a 3.03 ERA, and Culbreth has a 4-0 record and 0.76 ERA.
Carson Calcutt leads the Raider hitters with a .451 average and 35 runs scored, and Culbreth bats .438. Other leading hitters are junior Cal Tyndall (.386 avg, 28 runs), Williford (.351, 26 RBI) and junior Cameron Calcutt (.365).
The Raiders and Eagles played less than a month ago in the Terry Sanford Easter Tournament, and Williford slugged a two-run walk-off home run in the seventh inning for a 5-4 Midway victory.
About Author
