North Lincoln visits West Lincoln on Thursday for Game 2 of series
HobbsDailyReport.com
LINCOLNTON – North Lincoln — winning for the ninth straight time on Tuesday night — is a victory away from playing for the state 2A baseball championship.
The second-seeded Knights got off to a quick start at home, scoring twice in the first inning, and nipped 13th-seeded West Lincoln 3-1 in the opening game of a best-of-3 series for the West 2A title.
GAME 1: N. Lincoln 3, W. Lincoln 1
GAME 2: N. Lincoln at W. Lincoln, Thursday, 5:30 p.m.
GAME 3, IF NEEDED: W. Lincoln at N. Lincoln, Friday, 7 p.m.
Game 2 of a series featuring South Fork 2A and Lincoln County foes is Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at West Lincoln.
A win on Thursday by North Lincoln (23-5) would send it to next week’s best-of-3 title series in Zebulon or Burlington against the East 2A champion.
No. 11 seed Randleman (26-4) won that series opener Tuesday at No. 4 Washington (20-6), winning 4-2 and Game 2 is Thursday night Randleman.
West Lincoln dropped to 21-8, having four-game win streak snapped and falling to 1-2 against North Lincoln this season.
The Knights touched the Rebels for two unearned runs in the first inning on Tuesday night, scoring those runs on a two-out single by Jake Quilla.
West Lincoln ended a 23 1/3-inning stretch in which the Knights had no allowed a run by scoring in the third inning.
Dylan Smith singled with one out, moved up to third on wild pitches, and scored on a groundball off the bat of Samuel Duncan.
North Lincoln made it 3-1 with a run in the sixth inning via a one-out single by Kyle Brittain.
West Lincoln had the bags full in the seventh inning before reliever Jack Soorus got the outs needed for a save. He relieved Knights starter Joey Cobb.
The Knights threw out Bobby Beam as he tried to stretch a hit into a triple, and Soorus later got the final out.
Cobb pitched 6 2/3 innings, striking out 10, and gained his eighth win of the year.
MORE COVERAGE (Gaston Gazette): https://www.gastongazette.com/sports/20190521/north-lincoln-takes-opener-of-best-of-three-western-nc-2a-championship-series
