HobbsDailyReport.com
No. 7 West HENDERSON COUNTY (10-11)
vs. No. 3 West CALDWELL COUNTY (15-7)
Game 1, Friday at M.S. Deal Stadium, Granite Falls: Henderson County 15, Caldwell County 10
Game 2: Saturday at E. Henderson HS. 7 p.m.
Game 3: Sunday at M.S. Deal Stadium, Granite Falls. 7 p.m.
Game 4, if needed: Monday at E. Henderson HS, 7 p.m.
Game 5, if needed: Tuesday at M.S. Deal Stadium, Granite Falls. 7 p.m.
GRANITE FALLS – An 11-run second inning that included 16 batters to the plate pushed Henderson County Post 77 past Caldwell County 15-10 on Friday night in the opening game of a second round Area IV American Legion baseball playoff series.
Caldwell County (15-8) travels to East Henderson High for Game 2 on Saturday night at 7 p.m., and Game 3 of a best-of-5 series is Sunday at 7 p.m., back at M.S. Deal Stadium in Granite Falls.
Henderson County improved to 11-11 with its fourth straight postseason victory. Post 77, a West No 7 seed, swept East No. 2 seed Union County three games to none to reach the second round.
Caldwell County, the West No. 3 seed, had a four-game win streak snapped (Post 29 swept East No. 6 seed Pineville three games to none to begin the postseason).
After its big inning, Post 77 lead 12-1.
Caldwell County scored five runs in the fourth inning and was within 13-6.
Post 29 closed within 13-9 in the sixth inning via a three-run triple by Jack Stevens.
Henderson County hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to lead 15-9.
Post 29 and Post 77 met for the first time this season in the final days of the regular season with Caldwell County winning 6-5 and Henderson County winning 7-4 on July 3 in Granite Falls.
The winner of the current series advances to the third round, which begins next week, and will face the winner of East No. 4 Gastonia-West No. 1 Rutherford County.
Gastonia won the series opener on Friday at Sims Park 4-0. Game 2 on Saturday and Game 3 on Sunday (both at 7 p.m.) will be played at Rutherford County’s McNair Field in Forest City.