1A EAST REGIONAL: Early miscues spell trouble for Eagles

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 28, 2017 1:45 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

WHITEVILLE -- One by one they stepped into the light shining near first base managed to smile as they held the trophy.

Cameras flashed.

A moment frozen in time.

It wasn't the prize Rosewood's baseball players wanted in their hands Friday evening. A winnable game slipped from the Eagles' talons -- this time a 5-0, season-ending loss to Whiteville in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A eastern regional championship series.

Defense proved pivotal again.

Two first-inning mishaps, combined with RBI hits from Major League Draft prospect MacKenzie Gore and Carmen Cartrette, gave the fifth-seeded Wolfpack a 4-0 lead.

Gore drove in Whiteville's final run -- a second-inning, two-out RBI single.

That gave the high-kicking, hard-throwing southpaw plenty of cushion on the Legion Field cliff. The 6-foot-2 senior yielded three hits and retired 13 Eagles on strikeouts.

"Going against a pitcher of that magnitude, obviously in the back of your mind as a baseball player you know it's tough (with) every run that is scored against you," RHS head coach Jason King said. "You're going to have to work a little bit harder to get it back. I've not doubted these guys one second all year. They haven't doubted themselves or each other."

The just wouldn't bounce Rosewood's way.

Rosewood had just five runners touch a bag during the whirlwind 95-minute affair. Four men were stranded at either first or second base, and another erased on a second-inning double play.

Gore retired nine straight Eagles at one point.

"We knew we were going to be able to put the bat on the ball and we did pretty much all night, but we didn't find the holes," said King, whose team fended off laser-like fastballs and pounded breaking pitches into the dirt.

"He's a great pitcher, deserves a lot of credit. They're a good baseball team."

Chance Howard took over the cliff and kept Whiteville silent after Gore's second hit of the night. The Wolfpack put seven runners aboard but a confident Howard received assistance from his defense -- a greaser from Neal to second baseman Boone Moody on a stolen-base attempt in the third inning and a fifth-inning DP.

Howard silenced Whiteville with an inning-ending, bases-loaded strikeout in the sixth. He doled out four-plus innings of two-hit, five-strikeout relief behind starter Kolby Harris.

"Chance has thrown the ball well in relief...feels comfortable in that role (and) he's told me that all year," King said. "I've got a lot of confidence with him coming in if we do get in trouble early. He did exactly what we expected him to do."

After Gore recorded the final out, the teams shook hands and Rosewood's players sauntered out to right field. A few minutes passed before they huddled together, arms around each other one last time.

"Sure, we would have loved to play cleaner defensively, give a better showing," King said. "If they continue to live for other people, put them ahead of themselves, they have nothing to hang their heads about."