HS Baseball: Big night for favorites in league tournaments

It was a big night for favorites Monday in the opening round of high school conference baseball tournaments.

The top two seeds were winners in the I-Meck 4A, Southwestern 4A and Big South 3A conferences. The only top seed not winning Monday was SoMeck 7 4A regular-season champion Providence – and that’s because the Panthers had a first-round bye.

Among those advancing Monday night were top seeds Lake Norman and Hough in the I-Meck 4A, Ardrey Kell in the SoMeck 7 4A, Myers Park and Harrisburg Hickory Ridge in the Southwestern 4A, and Boiling Springs Crest and North Gaston in the Big South 3A.

Southwestern 4A

Myers Park 16, Garinger 0: William Oates and Carter Flanagan each slammed three hits for the top-seeded Mustangs, playing at home. Jack Shaw drove in four runs.

Harrisburg Hickory Ridge 11, Rocky River 4: Second seed Hickory Ridge, playing at home, built an early lead and held on. The Ragin’ Bulls face No. 3 Independence in Tuesday’s semifinals.

Independence 5, Indian Trail Porter Ridge 4: The third-seeded Patriots rallied in the bottom of the sixth, getting RBI hits from Bryson Jusko and Raja Milton. Independence faces Hickory Ridge in Tuesday’s semifinals.

Butler 15, East Mecklenburg 6: The fifth-seeded Bulldogs smacked 18 hits and downed No. 4 East Mecklenburg, in a game played at Myers Park. Kyle Ziefert, Travis Ziefert and Drew Roberts each had three hits for Butler. Luke Little went 2-for-3 for the Eagles. Butler faces top seed Myers Park on Tuesday.

I-Meck 4A

Lake Norman 10, West Charlotte 0: Top seed Lake Norman rolled to an easy victory on its home field and will face Hopewell in the semifinals.

Hough 16, Vance 0: The second-seeded Huskies, playing at home, were led by Jeffrey Frey, who slammed a double and triple and drove in three runs. Starting pitcher Kevin Coupal went three innings, allowing one hit, and Luke Osteen finished with two innings of hitless ball. Hough plays Mooresville in a Tuesday semifinal.

Mooresville 14, North Mecklenburg 2: Third seed Mooresville rolled to a big victory, in a game played at Hough. The Blue Devils will face Hough or Vance in Tuesday’s semifinals.

Hopewell 6, Mallard Creek 3: In a game played at Lake Norman, the fifth-seeded Titans advanced to Tuesday’s semifinals, where they will face top seed Lake Norman.

SoMeck 7 4A

Ardrey Kell 13, Harding 0: Playing on their home field, the second-seeded Knights scored seven times in the bottom of the first inning and smacked 10 hits. Khristian Ellington had both of Harding’s hits.

Olympic 19, West Mecklenburg 0: The Trojans, seeded third, won easily at Ardrey Kell’s field and will face Ardrey Kell in a Tuesday semifinal.

South Mecklenburg 12, Berry Academy 0: Fourth seed South Mecklenburg scored four runs in the first, second and third innings, rolling to victory on its home field. Zach Weston had two hits and three RBI, and Will Buchick scored two runs. The Sabres meet top seed Providence in a Tuesday semifinal.

Big South 3A

Boiling Springs Crest 9, Gastonia Huss 0: C. J. Mayhue homered for the top-seeded Chargers, who scored three times in the first inning and pulled away. Crest meets fourth seed Stuart Cramer in the semifinals.

North Gaston 5, Kings Mountain 4: Second seed North Gaston got a scare, as the seventh-seeded Mountaineers were tied at 4-4 in the sixth inning. North Gaston scored in the bottom of the sixth and held on. Luke Bumgarner, Dalton Williams, Austin Primm and Tyler Bradley each had a hit, and RBI, and scored a run.

Lawndale Burns 10, Gastonia Ashbrook 9: The third-seeded Bulldogs won a wild game, in which Ashbrook built a 5-0 lead, fell behind but tied the contest at 7-7, and then scored two runs in the seventh after Burns had taken a 10-7 lead. Colton Stroupe slammed a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth, giving Burns that 10-7 lead. Devin Cam smacked a two-run homer for Ashbrook. Burns faces North Gaston in the semifinals.

Cramerton Stuart Cramer 5, Gastonia Forestview 0: The Storm, seeded fourth, will face regular-season champion Crest in the semifinals.

Southwestern 2A

Shelby 4, East Gaston 3: The fourth-seeded Golden Lions will meet top seed R-S Central in the semifinals.

S.C. 5A playoffs

Fort Mill Nation Ford 3, Spartanburg 0: The Falcons captured their first-ever district championship, taking the District 1 title. Tim Kalia slammed a two-run double in the sixth inning, after J.D. Schumacher broke a scoreless tie in the fifth with an RBI double.

Nation Ford advances to the quarterfinals, facing Roebuck Dorman in a best-of-three series that begins Thursday.

Spartanburg 3, Rock Hill Northwestern 1: Northwestern was eliminated in the District 3 finals, but not before giving Spartanburg a scare. Trailing 3-0 in the top of the seventh, Northwestern scored a run and loaded the bases before its rally was snuffed out. Ross McCurley’s two-run single for Spartanburg broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning.

S.C. 4A playoffs

Wren 7, York 6: York fell in the District 1 finals.

S.C. 3A playoffs

Indian Land 6, Chapman 5: Indian Land won the District 4 title, scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh. It led 4-1 early, but Chapman rallied with four runs in the top of the sixth for a 5-4 lead.

S.C. 2A playoffs

Abbeville 7, Cheraw 3 (Game 1): Abbeville’s victory over winners’ bracket champion Cheraw forced a second game in the double-elimination tournament.

Cheraw 7, Abbeville 1 (Game 2): The Braves captured the District 4 championship, scoring five times in the top of the seventh inning to blow it open.

S.C. 1A playoffs

Richburg Lewisville 11, Williston-Elko 0: The Lions built an 8-0 lead after three innings and coasted to the District 2 title.

Report results of your school’s spring sports games and matches to obspreps@gmail.com.

This story was originally published May 1, 2018 at 12:27 PM with the headline "HS Baseball: Big night for favorites in league tournaments."