East Bladen Ty Mathis stepping up to the plate for an at-bat.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
FAYETTEVILLE — The 2023 Terry Sanford Easter Tournament was three great days of baseball and it had plenty of stiff competition. Terry Sanford and East Bladen swept their competition to meet each other on the third and final day of the tournament to decide the champion.
Terry Sanford shut out Midway in their first game before escaping in extras against a talented Pinecrest team. East Bladen opened Day 1 of the tournament with an 11-3 victory over the Western Harnett Eagles before taking on Richmond under the lights on Day 2. East Bladen went down 4-0 to Richmond in the top of the second inning but clawed their way back into the game.
East Bladen junior outfielder Lee Barnes smacked an RBI double to help get his team’s first run of the night across the plate. Barnes stole third base before scoring the second run of the night on a wild pitch. Richmond was able to add two more runs on the board during their at-bat in the third inning. East Bladen responded with five runs of their own to take the lead at 7-6 at the conclusion of the third inning.
Junior right-hander Jake Futrell helped East Bladen keep a hold of the lead with commanding work on top of the hill. Senior first-basemen Zamar Lewis extended the Eagles’ lead to eight with a solo home run over the left-field fence in the bottom of the fourth. The Richmond lineup cooled down on swinging the bat and East Bladen cruised toward the finish line.
The final days games to decide places was South View(0-2)-Western Harnett(0-2), Midway(1-1)-Richmond(1-1), Wayne Country Day(1-1)-Pinecrest(1-1), East Bladen(2-0)-Terry Sanford(2-0).