SC-Rosewood baseball
By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on May 7, 2015 1:51 PM
A week ago, it looked as if Spring Creek had all but wrapped up the Carolina 1-A Conference regular-season title.
Suddenly things don't look so certain. The Gators couldn't overcome three errors and mental mistakes in a 10-4 loss to Rosewood on Wednesday evening.
"It felt like instead of playing to win, they were playing not to lose," Spring Creek head coach Heath Whitfield said. "They were playing tight and tense. They went out there trying not to lose the game instead of wanting to win the game."
In third place a week ago, defending league champion Rosewood is now in the title picture. The Eagles are 3-0 during their current four games in a four-day stretch, and have outscored their opponents 35-7.
They could earn the No. 1 seed.
"I thought our plate approaches were good tonight," Rosewood head coach Jason King said. "I thought we worked counts deep. We talked about quality at-bats a lot -- if you see six or more pitches, that's a quality at-bat."
Every Rosewood player contributed offensively. Five of nine Eagles registered at least one RBI. Jordan DuBose and Khalil Warren each had two hits and two RBI.
Spring Creek's Sawyer Smith got the start on the mound for the Gators, but lasted just 21/3 innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits and one walk.
The Gators and Eagles held into today's respective regular-season finales with the top seed on the line. Spring Creek must win at home against North Duplin. A Rosewood win and an SC loss gives the Eagles the top spot.
"They know the stakes," said King, whose team plays archrival Princeton today. "They know exactly what is on the line tomorrow. They know what they have to bring to the field. If they can bring the same intensity tomorrow then we can give ourselves a chance."
"It's still up in the air," Whitfield added. "It's pretty big. It's some pretty big games."
Ethan Chapin earned the mound win for Rosewood. He threw 51/3 innings and gave up one run on six hits and had one strikeout.
"He stuck his nose out there and kept going," King said. "And that's what you've got to have as a starting pitcher."
Jordan Gurley is the scheduled started for today's game against Princeton. However, he collided with Will Rouse and took a cleat to the head which required treatment on the bench. He is expected to be evaluated for a concussion and his status is unknown.