Errors play role in Eagles, Bulldogs clash

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on May 8, 2016 1:47 AM

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jhayes@newsargus.com

The claustrophobic battle for second is no more.

And a litany of errors is to blame.

Rosewood used a series of late-inning miscues to turn back Carolina 1-A Conference rival Princeton 3-2 on Saturday night, ending a maddening week of starts, stops and scheduling madness for both ballclubs.

The victory also nailed down a runner-up league finish for the Eagles, who ended the regular season 15-8 overall.

Rosewood senior Nick Neal dealt a gem from the mound, spilling to all parts of the strike zone with ample speed and misdirection. The righty allowed just two hits and fanned five en route to a complete-game victory.

He improved to 6-1 on the mound.

After a silent opening inning, Rosewood's Hayden Amodeo scored Derek Neal on an RBI single to center field. The senior's 29th base hit of the season was part of a textbook night that also featured four assisted putouts from second base.

The early working margin was enough for Neal until the fourth inning, when a throwing error by shortstop Boone Moody allowed Princeton's first run. After two more errors in the fifth, Princeton held a 2-1 advantage.

It was an advantage Princeton skipper Bruce Proctor expected to hold.

Until it didn't.

Rosewood broke the contest open in a manic sixth frame, scoring twice on a wild exchange prompted by Derek Neal's RBI single. The one-out scoring burst gave the Eagles a 3-2 lead, one their starter used as an escort to victory.

"It's a crazy game," Proctor said with a chuckle. "(But) throw Princeton and Rosewood together -- it looks familiar. Both of those Neal boys hurt us."

Rosewood coach Jason King, whose team scrambled to prep the field for the evening's affair, employed a tried-and-true approach to managing the week's discombubulation.

"There's no exact science to it," King said. "We just tried to get our routine stuff done."

The night was also a proper sendoff for Rosewood seniors Amodeo, Neal, Ethan Chapin, Kyler Bradley and Luke Teague -- a group that consistently keeps the mood light for its head coach.

"They like to have fun," King said. "Those guys keep me smiling all the time. I can be in the worst mood possible... they just keep it light."

Princeton (18-6) fell to 10-4 in league play.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association is expected to release the baseball pairings on Monday.