HobbsDailyReport.com
BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Wednesday’s area first round games
WEST 2A
No. 25 Ashe County at No. 8 E. Lincoln, 7 p.m.
No. 18 Parkwood at No. 16 Draughn, 7 p.m.
No. 24 W. Lincoln at No. W. Stanly, 7 p.m.
No. 20 Black Mountain Owen at No. 11 Bunker Hill, 6 p.m.
WEST 3A
No. 17 Concord Robinson at No. 16 N. Lincoln
No. 30 Kings Mountain at No. 2 Marvin Ridge
No. 18 S. Rowan at No. 13 Hickory, 7 p.m.
WEST 4A
No. 26 Greensboro Page at No. 6 S. Caldwell
No. 29 Davie County at No. 2 Lake Norman
Derek Dyson and Daniel Dessecker each drove in a run and three Alexander Central High pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts on Tuesday night in a 2-1 victory over Richmond County.
The game opened the state 4A playoffs for the 15th-seeded Cougars (19-9), who next play on Saturday in the second round. Alexander Central will battle No. 30 Greensboro Grimsley or top-seeded Asheville Roberson (at Roberson or at home against Grimsley).
Against the Raiders on Tuesday, the Cougars had four hits – two by Grayson Chapman and one each by Justin Cook and Dyson – and they scored a run in the second inning and another in the fifth inning.
Cougars starer Zach Brzycky pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up two hits, one run (earned) with two walks and 11 strikeouts. Zach Hammer then faced two batters in the sixth inning without getting an out and Cook threw the final 1 2/3 innings (one hit, two strikeouts) to earn his second save of the season.
Richmond County, an 18th seed, scored in the sixth to get within a run.
Chase Haywood, Chandler Johnson and Alex Anderson each had one hit for the Raiders and Anderson drove in their run.
Jonathan Lee took the loss, going six innings. He gave up four hits, two runs (both earned) with a walk and six strikeouts.
The victory gives Alexander Central a shot at its third 20-win season in five years. The Cougars went 13-13 a year ago and 7-18 the year before that. They were 20-6 in 2013 and 20-8 in 2014.
Alexander Central’s best season in the last 20 came in 2004 (26-2).
No. 27 Mooresville 6, No 8 West Forsyth 5: The Blue Devils (12-12) knocked off the higher-seeded Titans in Clemmons on Tuesday night.
Mooresville has a second round game on Saturday at ninth-seeded Butler, a 2-1 opening round winner on Tuesday over No. 22 Porter Ridge.
3A
No. 6 Fred T. Foard 5, No. 28 Cox Mill 2: The Tigers ran their win streak to five games in a home victory over Cox Mill.
Foard will be at home in the second round Saturday against No. 23 Asheville or No. 12 Asheboro.
Josh McKinney was the winning pitcher on Tuesday for Foard (18-5), which is within striking range of a 20-win season for the first time 2006 (25-4).
Foard’s 18 wins are their most since going 19-6 in 2007.
No. 8 South Iredell 1, No. 21 Sun Valley 0: The Vikings won via shout for the third time this season in a first-round home game.
During the regular season, South Iredell’s only shutout wins were against Patton and Alexander Central.
The Vikings advance to Saturday’s second round and will be at home to face No. 25 West Henderson or No. 10 Cuthbertson.
No. 7 Crest 12, No. 6 Southwestern Randolph 2: At Crest, the Chargers ran their win streak to 10 games with a first-round victory that featured three home runs.
Ben Ledbetter, John Kyle Mitchell and winning pitcher Riley Cheek each hit a home run. Cheek and Mitchell’s were back-to-back in the first inning.
Crest (16-6) had 14 hits, five of them for extra bases.
Cheek pitched five innings and also went 3-for-4.
The Chargers’ next game is Saturday at home, facing No. 24 Waynesville Tuscola or No. 11 Carson.
No. 14 Weddington 2, No. 22 Hibriten 0: Host Weddington eliminated the Panthers and will next meet No. 29 Central Cabarrus or No. 5 Asheville Reynolds on Saturday at a site to be determined.
Hibriten finished 13-11 after losing four of its last six games, matching its best win total in a nine-year stretch.
The Panthers were shutout for the third time this season – twice on the road and once on a neutral field – and posted a winning record for the fourth time in five seasons.
2A
No. 13 Surry Central 3, No. 17 Maiden 2: Surry Central wiped out a two-run Maiden lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, to eliminate the Blue Devils (13-10-1).
Surry Central faces No. 2 R-S Central next, on Saturday at R-S Central.
Maiden scored both of its runs in the first inning.
The Blue Devils lost their last two games of the season — after having won nine of 10 before that — to complete their fourth straight winning season.
No. 2 R-S Central 7, No. 30 Lexington 0: The Hilltoppers (21-4) won their opener to advance to a Saturday second round battle with No. 13 Surry Central in Forest City.
The South Mountain Athletic 2A-3A’s regular season champ, R-S Central posted its ninth shutout of the season.
No. 3 West Davidson 3, No. 31 Lincolnton 1: The Wolves (8-13) were eliminated, closing their season with a third straight loss, in a game at West Davidson.
West Davidson will be at home Saturday to face No. 19 North Surry or No. 15 Wilkes Central.
The Dragons won the Central Carolina 2A regular season (10-0).
The Wolves scored in all but two of their games this year and ended up 4-8 on the road.
No. 12 East Rutherford 14, No. 22 Cramer 4: The Cavs ran away from Cramer in a first-round game, advancing to Saturday’s second round against No. 25 Ashe County or No. 8 East Lincoln at a site to be determined.
East Rutherford (18-6) scored double-digits for the 12th time this season and has outscored foes 32-8 in the last two games.
BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Wednesday’s area first round games
2A
No. 25 Ashe County at No. 8 E. Lincoln, 7 p.m.
No. 18 Parkwood at No. 16 Draughn, 7 p.m.
No. 24 W. Lincoln at No. W. Stanly, 7 p.m.
No. 20 Black Mountain Owen at No. 11 Bunker Hill, 6 p.m.
WEST 3A
No. 17 Concord Robinson at No. 16 N. Lincoln
No. 30 Kings Mountain at No. 2 Marvin Ridge
No. 18 S. Rowan at No. 13 Hickory, 7 p.m.
WEST 4A
No. 26 Greensboro Page at No. 6 S. Caldwell
No. 29 Davie County at No. 2 Lake Norman