By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
MORGANTON – The Tony Causby Classic, an eight-team high school baseball tournament at Patton, begins play on Monday with four games.
A 12-game, three-day tournament gets underway at 11:30 a.m. when Freedom (4-11) battles Chase (1-14).
At 2 p.m. on Monday, it’s Bandys (3-13-1) against R-S Central (13-3), and the third game pits Draughn (10-5) against West Caldwell (8-8) at 4:30 p.m.
The nightcap on Monday, at 7 p.m., is East Burke (2-14) facing Patton (5-13).
Game times on Tuesday are 11:30 a.m and 2 p.m. for consolation round games. The semifinals are at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The tournament will play to seventh place (11:30 a.m. on Wednesday). The fifth-place game is Wednesday at 2 p.m., and Tuesday’s semifinal losers battle at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday for third place.
The championship game is Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Admission is $6.
Of the eight teams in the field, those still in contention for a conference title are R-S Central and West Caldwell.
The Hilltoppers have won eight of their last 10 games to share the league lead (both 10-2) in the South Mountain Athletic 2A-3A with East Rutherford, which will play next week in the Mingo Bay Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
West Caldwell beat East Lincoln, the league leader in the Southern District 7 Athletic 2A, on the road in its last game. Without that win, the Mustangs would have wrapped up a regular-season crown with two games to go in the league.
Draughn has won its last four games to reach 10 wins but the Wildcats, at 8-5 in the SMAC 2A-3A, are a half-game behind third-place Crest in the conference race.
Host Patton has won back-to-back games.
Bandys comes in having dropped six straight games, Freedom has lost its last five, East Burke is on a four-game skid and Chase has lost three in a row.
TONY CAUSBY CLASSIC
(all games at Patton)
MONDAY
Game 1: Freedom (4-11) vs. Chase (1-14), 11:30 a.m.
Game 2: R-S Central (13-3) vs. Bandys (3-13-1), 2 p.m.
Game 3: Draughn (10-5) vs. W. Caldwell (8-8), 4:30 p.m.
Game 4: E. Burke (2-14) vs. Patton (5-13), 7 p.m.
TUESDAY
Game 5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 11:30 a.m.
Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m.
Game 7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, semifinal, 4:30 p.m.
Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, semifinal, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Seventh-place, 11:30 a.m.
Fifth-place, 2 p.m.
Third-place, 4:30 p.m.
Championship, 7 p.m.