North Lincoln baseball staves off elimination at South Point. Here's how
BELMONT — North Lincoln baseball would rather not have its back against the wall. Fortunately for the Knights, it isn’t a position to which they are not accustomed.
After losing 4-3 in the series opener, North Lincoln held off a late South Point rally to claim a 9-7 victory Thursday, May 21 at Raider Field in Belmont.
The Knight win pushed the NCHSAA 5A West regional championship series to a winner-take-all Game 3.
“Our team knew what was at stake, and it showed (Wednesday, May 20) at practice; the guys knew the plan,” said North Lincoln baseball coach Charlie Goss. “They knew we were capable of playing much better and showed up ready to go.”
Last spring, North Lincoln overcame a Game 1 setback in the NCHSAA 3A championship series, defeating J.H. Rose twice in a matter of hours to earn the program’s second state title. A bulk of those players on this year’s roster, the Knights banked on such experience walking into a packed Raider Field in Belmont.
Before most had settled into their seats, North Lincoln (27-3) had knocked South Point on its heels, the Knights putting five runs on the scoreboard. Designated hitter Cole Nemire did the most damage, his three-run homer giving North Lincoln a running start.
The Knights added one in the third on a wild pitch, adding three more in the fifth.
Sophomore starting pitcher Parker Williams also kept South Point off balance much of the night, allowing no runs on two hits with eight strikeouts over 5 ⅔ innings.
“(Williams) gave us everything he absolutely had in 5 ⅔ innings,” Goss said. “All of his pitches were in the zone and he located the ball well. He knew when he could dial it up a little bit and knew when he needed to calm down and let his defense work behind him.”
South Point (24-5) made things interesting in the seventh. The Red Raiders started the frame by putting their first six runners on, scoring seven runs. North Lincoln did its part to help, committing two errors and loading the bases with one out before earning a strikeout and groundout to escape with the win.
“Our strategy was just to see as many pitchers as we could, and get as many guys (up to the plate) to see what they look like and build a gameplan from there,” said South Point baseball coach Evan Wise. “But this says a lot about our guys and theur fight; it never really dies. We’ve been down in other games and bounced back, and we almost found a way to pull out another one.”
Jayden Faircoth was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Zeke Pruitt was 2-for-4 with a run scored for South Point.
A winner-take-all Game 3 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday in Pumpkin Center.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: North Lincoln baseball wins NCHSAA 5A West final Game 2 at South Point
What's Your Reaction?
like
0
dislike
0
love
0
funny
0
angry
0
sad
0
wow
0
