NCHSAA baseball, softball regionals to have Gastonia, Shelby flavor
The NCHSAA regional final round will have a distinct Foothills flavor. Eight teams from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties vied for spots in their respective regional championship series Friday, May 15, with five of them accomplishing their goal. Kings Mountain softball, as well as Cherryville, Lincoln Charter, North Lincoln and South Point baseball teams now find themselves two wins away from playing for state titles.
MORE THAN A GAME: Death of Stuart Cramer baseball coach postpones NCHSAA playoff game STILL PLUGGING ALONG: High hopes? Here's how Kings Mountain softball keeps raising the bar Here is how area teams fared in the regional semifinal round. Baseball 5A West (1) North Lincoln 4, (5) East Rowan 3: Down three runs before taking their first swings, the Knights (26-2) scored the game’s last four runs to advance to their second straight regional final.
Blake Mincey’s sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the sixth brought in Beckett Rinkus for the go-ahead run, with Cason McGinnis earning the game’s final outs. Cole Nemire was 2-for-2 with a run scored, while Rinkus had a hit and scored three runs. Caleb Hancock also provided an RBI base hit for the Knights.
(2) South Point 5, (3) Crest 4: A five-run third inning by the Red Raiders erased an early four-run deficit, helping the program to its first regional championship series since 2011 — coincidentally the last time South Point (23-4) claimed NCHSAA state baseball gold. Jacob Somers, Cole Hendrickson (double, RBI, run), and Jayden Faircloth (double, run) each finished 2-for-3. Red Raider pitcher Brody Crawford allowed four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts.
Jackson Swenson, Brock Melton , J. M. Knapp and Blayne Richardson each had RBI base hits for Crest, which finishes with a 20-6 record.