Spring Creek forces 3-way tie for Carolina 1-A men's tennis title

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 5, 2006 2:03 PM

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SEVEN SPRINGS -- Spring Creek edged archrival Rosewood High 5-4 and claimed a share of the Class 1-A Carolina Conference men's regular-season championship Thursday afternoon.

The Gators, Eagles and North Johnston each finished 4-2 in league play.

Spring Creek (7-6) drew the No. 1 seed for the N.C. High School Athletic Association dual-team playoffs, which begin next Tuesday. Coach Robert Jones' team begins defense of its eastern championship against Southeast Halifax, the lone representative from the Tar-Roanoke Athletic Conference.

North Johnston (6-2) is seeded No. 2 and travels to East Bladen. Rosewood (10-6) is seeded third and is the guest of Topsail.

Senior Cliff Wilson, Daniel Correll, Justin Smith and Frederick Ellis each supplied a singles win against the Eagles. Correll and Smith each needed third-set tiebreakers to turn back their respective opponents.

"I can't say enough good things about Daniel, and what it's meant for him to step in this week and play the way he's played," said Jones of Correll's come-from-behind 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win. "To beat a good third-year player like J.P. Cummins was something else.

"Justin had a great match, too. The tiebreaker was just a matter of who could keep the ball in play."

Tied at 6-6, Smith forced two errors to upend Drew Kriger 6-2, 5-7, 8-6.

Wilson-Smith and Frederick Ellis-Jonathan Sutton each triumphed in doubles.

The Eagles got singles wins from Daniel Ellis and Trevor Morris, who pulled out a three-set thriller at No. 5 singles.

Cummins-Kriger won at No. 2 doubles.

Spring Creek claimed its first regular-season championship since 2004 and third overall.

Spring Creek 5

Rosewood 4

Singles -- No. 1 Cliff Wilson (SC) d. Ty Johnson 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 Daniel Ellis (RHS) d. John Potts 6-0, 6-1; No. 3 Daniel Correll (SC) d. J.P. Cummins 3-6, 6-2, 7-5; No. 4 Justin Smith (SC) d. Drew Kriger 6-2, 5-7, 8-6; No. 5 Trevor Morris (RHS) d. Jonathan Sutton 3-6, 6-0, 7-5; No. 6 Frederick Ellis (SC) d. Josh Fail 6-3, 6-1.

Doubles -- No. 1 Wilson-Smith (SC) d. Johnson-Ellis 8-5; No. 2 Cummins-Kriger (RHS) d. Potts-Correll 8-0; No. 3 Ellis-Sutton (SC) d. Morris-Fail 8-4.

Softball

Wayne Christian

survives seven errors

WILSON -- Wayne Christian survived a seven-error outing on defense and knocked off Northwood Temple 11-8 in the Carolina Christian 1-A Conference semifinals on Thursday afternoon.

Traci Davis ripped a three-RBI home run in the fourth inning, which helped the Eagles build what appeared to be an insurmountable lead. Northwood continued to peck away at the lead and scored once in the seventh before Wayne Christian closed out the game.

Davis started on the mound and yielded three hits in six innings of work. The right-hander recorded eight strikeouts and walked one before Brittany Sullivan took over in the circle. Sullivan provided one inning of no-hit relief.

Davis and Michelle Krug each concluded the contest with two hits, while Kayla Kennedy doubled twice. Sullivan, Regan Hinton, Danielle Pender, Hope Wright and Katie Daniels each contributed one hit.

Wayne Christian (16-1) opposes Cape Fear Christian in the title game today on the Community Christian School diamond. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Cape Fear handed the Eagles their only loss in regular-season play.

Vikings' Graham

delivers in seventh

KINSTON -- Sharonda Graham delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh inning as Kinston nipped Eastern Wayne 4-3 in the regular-season, Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference finale for both teams.

With one out and the score tied at 3-3, Kim Dixon doubled off the third baseman's foot. Graham followed with a line drive off the pitcher that bounced to a vacated area of the infield to score Dixon from second.

The Vikings had just two bunt singles before the seventh.

Bobbie Harris allowed two hits, walked four and struck out four to get the win.

Kinston (5-14-1, 2-8 ECC) drew the No. 5 seed for next week's ECC tournament and is the guest of either Wilson Beddingfield or Southern Wayne. The two teams tied for third at 6-4 in conference play and flipped a coin Friday morning to determine the seeding.

Eastern Wayne (1-19, 0-10) travels to either Beddingfield or Southern Wayne.

Baseball

E. Wayne pulls

out ECC road win

KINSTON -- Eastern Wayne benefited from a seventh-inning infield error and squeezed past Kinston 5-4 in the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference regular-season finale Thursday evening.

Trailing 4-3 heading into the final inning, Joey Moye cranked out a lead-off single. Tyler Ham into a fielder's choice and stayed at first when Taylor Sutton flied out to left field.

Nolan Lancaster doubled to keep the Warriors' rally intact. John Wooten hit an infield grounder that the Vikings misplayed, and Ham and Lancaster raced home to make it 5-4.

"It was a fisticuff ball hit up the middle that should have been caught and could have been caught," said Eastern Wayne coach Jabo Fulghum. "The guy threw it away at first."

Wooten retired Kinston in order in the seventh and earned the mound win in relief of Sutton. Sutton surrendered four runs (two earned) on seven hits in four-plus innings.

Moye, Ham, Wooten and freshman infielder Walker Gourley each had two hits for the Warriors.

Eastern Wayne (11-13, 6-4 ECC) drew the No. 3 seed for next week's ECC tournament. Fulghum's team will play host to either Beddingfield or Kinston at 7 p.m. Monday.

Eastern Wayne 210 000 2 -- 5 11 2

Kinston 000 130 0 -- 4 7 3

Leading hitters -- Eastern Wayne -- Joey Moye 2-4, 2B, RBI; Tyler Ham 2-4, 2B; John Wooten 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Walker Gourley 2-4. Kinston -- Clark 2-3, 3B; Adam Spence 2-3; Whitfield 2-4, RBI.

IP H R ER BB SO

Eastern Wayne

T. Sutton 41/3 7 4 2 2 2

Wooten (W, 2-0) 22/3 0 0 0 1 4

Kinston

Whitfield 7 11 5 3 2 4

Eagles claim

wild CCC affair

WILSON -- Wayne Christian capitalized on two eighth-inning wild pitches and escaped Northwood Temple 10-9 in the Carolina Christian 1-A Conference semifinals Thursday afternoon at Community Christian School.

The top-seeded Eagles oppose the Village Christian-Cape Fear Christian winner at 4 p.m. today. Officials suspended that contest in the fifth inning due to darkness with Cape Fear leading 9-7. Weather permitting, play resumed at 2 p.m. today.

Down 7-6 in the seventh, Wayne Christian's Adam Brannan smacked a lead-off triple and scored on Doug Johnson's perfectly-executed squeeze bunt.

Northwood answered with two runs in the eighth and could have had more, but Billy Smith made a run-saving catch to end the rally.

Jeremy Jefferson reached on an infield error in the Eagles' half of the eighth inning. Tyler Thomas drilled a one-out single, which put runners on second and third.

T.A. Brannan drew a walk on a wild pitch and Jefferson scored to make it 9-8. Northwood's catcher tracked down the ball and threw back to the pitcher, who couldn't handle the throw and Thomas slid in safely for the 9-9 tie.

Brannan advanced to third and scored when the pitcher uncorked another wild pitch with Johnson at the plate.

"A wild game," said Eagles head coach Tim Brannan.

Tyler Thomas tripled and plated a run in a 2-for-3 showing. Adam Brannan tripled and finished with two hits in four at-bats. Jordan Yelverton (RBI) tripled, while Johnson contributed one hit.

Brannan earned the mound win in relief of Tyler Thomas.

2006 Carolina 1-A

Christian Conference

Baseball Tournament

Semifinals

(at Community Christian, Wilson)

NW Temple 410 200 02 -- 9 11 3

W. Christian 001 500 13 -- 10 11 5

Leading hitters -- Wayne Christian -- Jordan Yelverton 1-5, 3B, RBI; Jeremy Jefferson 1-3; Andrew Bass 1-5; Tyler Thomas 2-3, 3B, RBI; T.A. Brannan 1-4; Adam Brannan 2-4, 3B; Doug Johnson 1-3, RBI; Travis Thomas 1-3, RBI; Billy Smith 1-5.

IP H R ER BB SO

Wayne Christian

Thomas 3 5 5 5 1 4

A. Brannan (W) 5 6 4 3 1 6

Jaguars upend

Rams in EPC 2-A

SNOW HILL -- Farmville Central tallied single runs in the fifth and seventh innings, and turned back Greene Central 5-3 on the Eastern Plains 2-A Conference scene Thursday evening.

Hunter Chase, Michael Speedy and Will McGlawhorn each had two hits for the Rams.

Drew Sowers endured the pitching loss.

Greene Central (13-10, 6-3 EPC) concludes regular-season play at home next Tuesday against North Lenoir. Game time is 7 p.m.

Chargers fall

in CPIC action

Wayne Country Day staged another patented seventh-inning comeback, but left the bases loaded in a 5-4 loss against Halifax Academy in Coastal Plains Independent 1-A/2-A Conference play Thursday afternoon.

The Vikings led 4-0 before the Chargers plated three seventh-inning runs.

"We just couldn't get enough runs," said WCDS coach Michael Taylor, whose team left the bases loaded in the fifth and stranded 10 runners overall.

Travis Davis, Cameron Ford, Sam Steed, Ryan Ford and Trent Langston each had one hit for the Chargers.

Wayne Country Day (9-9, 3-6 CPIC) entertains Faith Christian-Rocky Mount at 4:45 p.m. Monday.

Halifax 121 000 0 -- 4 7 4

W. Country Day 000 000 3 -- 3 5 7

Leading hitters -- Wayne Country Day -- Travis Davis 1-4, 2 RBI; Cameron Ford 1-4; Sam Steed 1-3; Ryan Ford 1-1; Trent Langston 1-3.

IP H R ER BB SO

Wayne Country Day

Davis 6 7 4 2 2 2

Herring 1 0 0 0 1 0

Spring Creek

collects 2nd win

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Spring Creek executed a double steal in the bottom of the seventh inning and nipped Union 9-8 in non-conference play Thursday evening.

Senior catcher Josh Singleton (two RBI) doubled and tripled for the Gators, who claimed just their second win in 22 outings. Josh Gammon (RBI) and Timothy Rogers each contributed two hits.

Ray Grady picked up the mound win in relief of Paul Hayes.

Spring Creek concludes its schedule tonight at home against Carolina 1-A Conference foe North Johnston.

Union 123 200 0 -- 8 8 5

Spring Creek 501 110 1 -- 9 9 5

Leading hitters -- Union -- Tim Osborne 2-4; Justin Weeks 2-2, 2 RBI. Spring Creek -- Josh Gammon 2-4, RBI; Timothy Rogers 2-2; Josh Singleton 2-3, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI.

IP H R ER BB SO

Union

Hall 31/3 8 7 7 4 5

Hurley (L) 3 1 2 0 3 6

Spring Creek

Prunest 3 6 6 6 2 4

Hayes 31/3 2 2 1 3 2

Grady 2/3 0 0 0 0 1

Track

E. Wayne girls

emerge ECC champs

WILSON -- Eastern Wayne parlayed four individual first-place finishes and two relay victories into an Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference championship Thursday afternoon on the Beddingfield High track.

Jenita Allen (discus), Richelle Butler (shot put), Noelle Kelly (400 run) and Genia Baker (100) each earned conference titles in their respective events. Kelly, Baker, Nikki Allen and Alysa Artis teamed together to win the 800 relay in 1 minute, 47.73 seconds. Kelly, Allen, Artis and LaNiece Sims combined to win the 1,600 relay in 4:29.

The Warriors amassed 162 points in the six-team meet. The host Bruins were second with 126, followed by Kinston (73), C.B. Aycock (69), Wilson Hunt (68) and Southern Wayne (54).

"They did an outstanding job," said Eastern Wayne head coach Marvin Bowman.

Artis (400), Yasmine Washington (800), Sims (300 hurdles) and Shannon Rouse (3,200 run) each turned in second-place efforts for Eastern Wayne. Alicia Allen ended up third in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles, while Nikki Allen grabbed third in the 200.

Eastern Wayne placed second in the 400 and 3,200 relays.

Soccer

Hawks shut

out Pam Pack

LaGRANGE -- North Lenoir put the finishing touches on its first-ever unbeaten season in women's soccer with a 4-0 drubbing of Washington at Bullock Field.

The Hawks concluded regular-season play 21-0-1 and entertain a wildcard selection in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A/2-A playoffs, which begin next Wednesday.

Sasha Holeman scored two goals, including one off a free kick against the Pam Pack. Lindsay Walton provided a goal off a corner kick from Holeman. Senior Katie Maloney added a goal off a free kick and provided one assist.

Golf

Lane Tree GC

winners announced

PIKEVILLE -- Betty Jean Gurley claimed game of the week tee-to-green honors in weekly play at Lane Tree Golf Course.

Gurley also won low net accolades.

Teresa Shearin and Donna Adams shared low putts.

JV baseball

Golden Falcons

hammer So. Wayne

PIKEVILLE -- Jay Rose threw a one-hitter and belted a home run in C.B. Aycock's 16-0 victory over county rival Southern Wayne in the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference regular-season finale for both teams.

Rose recorded 10 strikeouts in the contest, which was halted after 41/2 innings due to the 10-run mercy rule. Rose provided two hits in three plate appearances on offense.

Stephen Strouse and Josh Martin each collected two hits for the Golden Falcons, who fashioned a 19-1 record under head coach Trevor Pilkington.

Kevin Carmel and Greg Champion each contributed one hit.