Seaforth took home the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference tournament titles in baseball and softball last week. Here’s a recap of each championship game and the moments leading up to them:
Baseball
Seaforth pitchers Jaedyn Rader and Easton Sykes threw a combined 49 strikes (73 pitches) and only gave up a hit each in a 5-0 win over No. 3 Northwood in the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference tournament championship game on May 1.
The top-seeded Hawks took both the tournament and regular season conference titles in back-to-back seasons.
Rader, who got the start and the win on the mound, struck out three batters. His performance, combined with Sykes and the rest of the Seaforth defense, helped the Hawks overcome three errors that could’ve changed the game.
“What we showed on the mound was our true identity of what we are on the mound,” Seaforth coach Spenser Messmore said. “It’s pretty much anybody that we put out there whether it’s Rader, Easton, Anthony, Bryce, Tristan, anybody. That’s what it is. It’s fill in the zone and just competing. So, we did that well today.”
Up 1-0 after a sac fly by Rader scored senior Daniel White in the first inning, sophomore Bryce Huneycutt started Seaforth’s game-turning rally with a two-RBI single in the bottom of the fourth.
On the next at-bat, Huneycutt worked his way around the bases and scored on a passed ball, giving the Hawks a 4-0 lead. Errors and pitching lapses continued to hurt Northwood in the inning as another passed ball allowed senior John Gay, who was previously hit by a pitch, to score.
Prior to the championship game, Seaforth beat No. 5 North Moore 9-2 in the semifinals behind a six-strikeout (47 strikes out of 71 pitches) mound performance from Huneycutt. White recorded a team-high two RBIs, and Sykes went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI.
Thanks to a team-high four RBIs from senior Kaleb Howell, Northwood took down No. 2 Southeast Alamance 10-4 in the semifinals. The Chargers, coming into the game 0-2 against the Stallions this season, scored four runs in the opening inning, and they scored five more in the fifth. Northwood notched 10 hits to Southeast Alamance’s six. Sophomore pitcher Finn Sullivan struck out six batters in the first four innings while sophomore Zeke Wicker allowed zero runs and two hits in the last three innings.
Northwood freshman Riley D’Angelo threw 12 strikeouts to beat No. 6 Bartlett Yancey 8-3 in the first round.
No. 4 Chatham Central lost to North Moore 7-4, and No. 7 Jordan-Matthews lost to Southeast Alamance 13-2 in the first round.
Softball
Seaforth’s Abigail Johnson scored a walk-off run to clinch the second-seeded Hawks’ first Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference tournament title over No. 5 Southeast Alamance 4-3 on May 1.
Tied at 3-3 with two outs, Johnson advanced to third base after Emma Grace Hill was walked. The first pitch on the very next at-bat went past the catcher, and Johnson ran in the game-winning score.
In a low-scoring affair, Blair Hill had the best night at the plate for the Hawks, going 1-for-3 with an RBI. Emma Grace Hill struck out five batters (68 strikes out of 103 pitches) and allowed six hits in seven innings.
No. 1 Chatham Central, which was perfect in regular season conference play, got upset by Southeast Alamance in the semifinals 8-7. After leading 7-2 through four innings, the Bears got outscored 6-0 in the final three innings.
A passed ball and an error were costly mistakes in the top of the fifth inning in which the Stallions ripped off four runs. Chatham Central still gave itself a chance to win with two outs and bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, but Chloe Brewer’s final swing was caught in the outfield to end the game.
On the other side of the bracket, Seaforth and No. 3 Jordan-Matthews found themselves tied at three runs apiece until the Hawks scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Annika Johansson hit a home run to put the Hawks ahead for what was eventually the final score 7-3.
Jordan-Matthews pitcher Lilli Hicks pitched a perfect game to beat No. 6 Northwood 3-0 in the first round.
Hicks struck out 10 batters, throwing 53 strikes outs of 83 pitches. At the plate, Lily Zogopoulos went 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Chatham Central beat No. 8 Bartlett Yancey 15-0, and Seaforth beat No. 7 Graham 16-1 in the first round.
