Baseball season ends for East & West Bladen

West Bladen

BEAUFORT — The number-nine-seeded East Carteret Mariners defeated the 25th-seeded West Bladen Knights for an 8-1 victory in the second round of the NCHSAA state playoffs on Friday. Sophomore Cade Allen batted in sophomore Garret Dunham for the first run of the evening to give the Knights an early lead in the first inning. The Mariners got their first run of the day in the third inning and kept momentum firmly in their grasp for the remainder of the game.

West Bladen was held to six hits as they struggled to find a way on base to manufacture much-needed runs. Dunham led the Knights in slugging with a 2-for-4 performance and he scored his team’s lone run. East Carteret advances to the next round where they’ll face the number-1 seeded Midway Raiders. The Knights finished their season with an overall record of 14-9 and they finished with a 6-6 record in SAC 7 play.

West Bladen will lose six seniors but will have 10+ returners for next season’s campaign. A season highlighted by a sweeping victory against their county rivals East Bladen and a couple of comeback victories against some stiff competition will be left in the memories of a successful season.

East Bladen

SPIVEY’S CORNER — The number-one-seeded Midway Raiders defeated the 16th-seeded East Bladen Eagles for a 10-0 victory in the second round of the NCHSAA state playoffs on Friday. Midway junior left-hander Christian Gainey threw a 3-hit shutout in his team’s blowout victory against a familiar foe. The Eagles lineup struggled to find an answer at the plate and errors in the field didn’t help their chances against a solid team.

Midway didn’t face the same problem at the plate as their opponent and it felt like they were hitting everything in sight. Junior right-hander Jake Futtrell started the game for the Eagles on top of the mound and the first inning would start positive for Futrell with two early outs in the at-bat. The Raiders barely flinched and senior Trey Gregory knocked a 2-RBI triple to the outfield to take the lead before the final out of the inning.

The Eagles had a chance to respond in the top of the second but left two runners stranded on base. The Raiders took to the plate in the bottom of the second inning and extended their lead to 6-0. Gainey took to the mound once more and struck out two of the Eagles’ best hitters with ease. East Bladen senior Garrison Tatum made contact with the ball but he grounded out to first to end the top of the third inning.

Futrell started the third by striking out the lead batter but the Raiders would get a runner on base on an infield single. Futrell kept his nerve and delivered some excellent pitches at the plate to force a groundout and a fly-out to keep the Raiders scoreless. East Bladen senior Lee Barnes got on base with a single but was left stranded for another forgettable half-inning for the Eagles. Futrell and the Eagles’ defense had to grind to keep the host from scoring with two runners on in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Gainey kept the game firmly in the Raiders’ control with his right arm dictating the flow of the game and the Eagles swinging with no luck. Midway put things to bed in the fifth inning but a questionable call from the second base umpire prevented East Bladen from getting a much-needed second out. Junior Tripp Westbrook brought home the seventh run before senior Wyatt Lucas brought home two more runs to make it 9-0. Senior Hunter Tyndall brought in the tenth and final run of the evening on a single to help the Raiders advance to the next round. Midway will take on the ninth-seeded East Carteret Mariners on Tuesday at home.

East Bladen season ends with an overall record of 12-11 and a SAC 7 record of 7-5 for a third-place finish. The season was filled with highs and lows but the Eagles showed their heart on several occasions this season. The Eagles became a different team after pushing Terry Sanford to the brink in the finals of the “Easter Classic” as they finished the remainder of the season at 6-2.