3A BASEBALL PLAYOFFS: CBA battles back

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on May 11, 2017 9:59 AM

• Print
• Email

PIKEVILLE -- His team dressing the field in a symphony of post-game double time, Charles B. Aycock skipper Charles Davis succinctly captured the nature of its lightning-in-a-bottle, 7-3 conquest of Northeast Guilford to open the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A state baseball playoffs on Wednesday night.

"In the playoffs, you only have to be good for one inning," the veteran skipper Davis noted. "And fortunately, our one inning happened to be better than theirs."

Northeast Guilford (10-16 overall) enjoyed prosperity in a brisk opening frame, reaching and moving the top third of its lineup around Aycock ace Cody Whaley. Following a sacrifice and a walk to hil-ltopping counterpart Jacob Brown, senior Logan Fields rode a Whaley offering to center field, plating a pair of Ram runs and causing a low murmur to circulate amongst the powder-blue faithful.

Its chorus, however, would soon be replaced by noise of another kind.

Aycock exploded in the bottom of the second inning, batting around its lineup and crossing six runs on the strength of five RBI. The contact-hitting symposium -- which featured a spray of powder-blue singles to all portions of the yard --left Brown, a High Point University signee, visibly frustrated and in a hole from which his mates couldn't rally.

Bolstered by his team's outburst, Whaley settled on the cliff and dialed to all portions of the strike zone with certainty, lasting five innings and throwing 100 pitches before being supplanted by reliever Jordan Gay.

His outing, which including its usual pace and off-the-table curvature, accounted for two runs on eight scattered hits. He also fanned five Ram batsmen.

"He battled the whole time through," Davis said of his starter. "That's what you have to do -- he gave us a chance to win."

Gay took the reins and despite allowing a solo blast to Brown in the seventh, closed the door on Northeast in economic fashion. Over two frames, the methane dealer used just 24 pitches to draw curtains on the Northeast dugout.

Aycock was spearheaded offensively by 9-holer Bradley Pate, who finished the contest 2-for-2 with an RBI. Chris Turner also fared nicely against Brown, producing a pair of base knocks and an RBI to plate the final powder blue run.

Also factoring prominently for CBA were Joey Hampton (2-for-3); Luke Frederick, Tyler Daniels, Chandler Matthews and Blake Gipson, all of whom registered base hits and RBI to cement the triumph.

Weather permitting, C.B. Aycock (19-6 overall) will continue its playoff march Friday versus West Brunswick, which defeated Western Alamance in the first round.