.jpg)
For the 2024 baseball season, the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference belongs to the Seaforth Hawks.
Seaforth, the No. 1 seed in the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A tournament, held off No. 7 Southeast Alamance, 10-4, Thursday night to win its first conference tournament title.
The Hawks achieved a clean sweep over the conference championships, clinching their first regular season title after beating Bartlett Yancey on April 26.
“I’m just so happy for our guys,” Seaforth head coach Landon Jones said. “Tonight had a little bit of our story written all across it. From seniors who were on the three-win team a year ago getting to close it out to freshmen hitting 3-2 home runs, a little bit of who Seaforth baseball is was played out through this game.”
With senior Anders Johansson getting the start on the mound for Seaforth, Southeast Alamance struck first in the opening inning after a dropped pitch allowed sophomore Bubba Sims, who lead off with a double, to reach home.
Seaforth held the Stallions off for the rest of their batting turn and tied the game in the bottom of the first inning as a double from junior Cade Elmore sent sophomore Jaedyn Rader home.
The game remained 1-1 until the bottom of the second inning when freshman Bauer Bowling, on a 3-2 count, sent a bomb over the left field fence. The home run also brought in sophomore Colin Dorney, who was walked in the previous at-bat, to give Seaforth a 3-1 lead.
“When I first (hit) it, I didn’t even know that thing was going,” Bowling said. “I rounded first base and everybody (was) cheering…all the emotions pumped up.”
However, it was the Stallions’ turn to even the odds.
In the top of the third inning, Sims doubled once again, and he came home two at-bats later after an errant throw from Dorney at the catcher position flew over the second baseman’s head.
Southeast Alamance then tied the game at three runs when sophomore Josh Gant hit a ground rule double to right center field, bringing in freshman Paxton Piccini.
With two outs in the bottom of the third inning, a single from Johansson brought Elmore in again for the Hawks’ fourth run and only run of the inning.
Freshman Anthony Landano came in to relieve Johansson on the mound to start the fourth inning, but just two batters in, Sims, also on a 3-2 count, hit a home run to left center field to tie the game at four runs.
With the game looking to be a back and forth battle, Seaforth put all of it to rest in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Hawks connected on three hits and got on base five times, bringing in four runs to take an 8-4 advantage.
Landano started to catch fire at the mound, too, going three up and three down in the two following innings.
“I wasn’t doing too well at the plate, so I wanted to do something for the team, at least, and go out there and pitch good,” Landano said. “So, I was just thinking to get outs and work for the team.”
In the bottom of the sixth inning, a two-RBI double from Dorney put the finishing touches on the win.
Seaforth is heading into its first playoff run with plenty of momentum. Prior to beating Southeast Alamance in the conference tournament, the Hawks ran through Graham, 10-0, and Jordan-Matthews, 14-4, in the first two rounds.
Just last year, the Hawks were like Southeast Alamance in the conference tournament — a lower seed getting hot and reaching the championship game. Therefore, they’re no stranger to success in playoff-type games prior to this year’s state tournament.
This year, the Hawks are one of the top dogs entering the playoffs as they’re in position to host the first round as a high seed. Throughout the past few weeks, Jones said his young squad has been working to replicate the feel and urgency of the playoffs to get ready for the first round on Tuesday.
“We’re at the point of the year where we can’t afford to play a sloppy half inning or take a half inning off at the plate,” Jones said. “It’s go time now, and the guys took that challenge knowing that Tuesday when the playoffs start and we host a game, we’re going to be punched in the mouth by a new experience (and) by a big atmosphere.”
