East Bladen junior Jake Futrell on the mound in the first inning.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
East Duplin senior catcher Chance Mashburn attempting to pick off the steal at second.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
East Bladen
ELIZABETHTOWN-The 16th seeded East Bladen Eagles defeated the 17th-seeded East Duplin Panthers for a 6-5 victory in the first round of the NCHSAA state playoffs on Tuesday. The evening matchup was started by Eagles senior Jake Futrell and things started off well with a strike against the first batter he faced. East Duplin senior Breckon Bowles stepped into the batter’s box ready to battle and after multiple pitches in the full count, he forced an eventual walk. Senior Avery Noble was able to slap an infield single to get two men on base with one out.
The situation got nervy for the Eagles’ defense after the Panthers scored their first run on passed balls and followed it up with an Eli Thigpen RBI single to center field to take the early 2-0 lead. East Bladen was able to tag a runner on a base running error and Futrell struck out a batter to get the host out of the top of the first inning. East Duplin Baines Raynor started on the mound for the Panthers and he faced East Bladen senior Marlen Davis as his first adversary on the night.
Raynor got the edge over Davis in their first meeting of the game and he got Davis to ground out to first base. Senior infielder Evan Pait grounded out and senior infielder Zamar Lewis was struck out to leave the Eagles with nothing in the inning. East Duplin extended their lead in the top of the third inning with Bowles sending an RBI double deep into left field to put his team up 3-0. The Eagles’ coaching staff made a pitching change and called upon Pait to get them out of the third with two runners on base.
Pait struck out the first batter he faced to secure the second out and the Panthers senior designated hitter Jackson Hunter sent a flyball to left field to end their half of the third inning. Junior outfielder Lee Barnes led off for the Eagles in the bottom of the third and he was able to get on base with a single to left field. Senior outfielder Weston Hatcher took a pitch to the body to get on base to give the Eagles two runners on base.
Junior Tyler Johnson beat a throw to first but Hatcher was tagged out in the process but it left the Eagles with runners in the corners. Davis slapped an RBI single in his second at-bat to get the host on the board for the first time of the evening. Pait continued to pound the strike zone in the top of the fourth inning and he kept the Panther lineup from scoring.
Pait led off for the Eagles in the bottom of the fourth and he crushed a double to the left field fence. Lewis got on with a single while advancing pinch runner Na’Toren Corbett to third and he immediately moved up to second base with a steal. Raynor managed to get a strikeout but hit Futrell with a pitch to load the bases with one out.
East Bladen managed to get a run across the plate on a wild pitch to inch closer to their opponent’s lead. Raynor struck out another batter to get the Panthers their second out of the fourth inning before Barnes stepped up to the batter’s box to change the momentum of the game.
Barnes slapped a single to center field to bring home Lewis and Futrell as the Eagles grabbed their first lead of the day at 4-3. Pait continued to terrorize the Panthers lineup with his right arm and he quickly brought the fifth inning to a close with only one hit allowed. East Duplin went to their left-handed pitcher Jackson Gause as relief in the bottom of the fifth. Gause walked Davis before Pait smashed his second double of the day and brought home Davis to make the game 5-3. Futrell was able to bat in senior Garrison Tatum for the Eagles’ sixth and final run of the night.
East Duplin attempted to rally back in the top of the sixth inning and it started with a Hunter double to left field to lead things off. Raynor dropped a double in center field but the Eagles defense held firm and cut off Hunter at third to keep him from scoring. Senior Chance Marshburn loaded the bases by beating out the throw to first base with no outs to give the Panthers some hope.
Hunter and Raynor would both cross the plate on wild pitches in the dirt to bring them within one run of their opponent at 6-5. Pait and the East Bladen defense had their backs pinned against the wall but were able to scrape together three straight outs to keep ahold of momentum.
Gause struck out two straight batters before forcing a pop out to the outfield to quickly end the sixth inning. The Panthers lineup had one more chance to win or tie at the top of the seventh but Pait delivered three straight strikeouts to push the host to victory.
East Bladen will take on the number-one-seeded Midway Raiders on Friday in the second round of NCHSAA state playoffs.
West Bladen
ROCKY POINT- The 25th-seeded West Bladen Knights defeated the eighth-seeded Heide Trask Titans for a 9-5 victory on Tuesday in the first round of the NCHSAA state playoffs. Sophomore Cade Allen had a stellar evening at the plate with a 5-for-4 performance and he had three RBIs to lead the Knights in slugging. Senior Garrison Carr and sophomore Brady Durden combined arm strength on top of the mound to hold the Titans lineup to six hits.
West Bladen will continue their playoff run away to the ninth-seeded East Carteret Mariners on Friday.