Cuthbertson coach says team ‘picked me up’ to advance to 4A regionals

Cuthbertson High head baseball coach Sam Skinner says trust plays a huge role in his program’s success.

The Cavaliers 7-6 win over West Forsyth on Friday— to advance to the program’s first-ever Western N.C. 4A regional appearance — was an example of that trust.

He blamed himself for putting his team in a difficult situation.

“I told them going into the bottom of the eighth to pick me up,” said Skinner, a 2001 South Mecklenburg High graduate who has previously coached at Charlotte’s Olympic and Independence high schools. “I messed up and tried to get cute there in the sixth inning trying to steal a run and it didn’t work out.

“So I had a moment of vulnerability with them and, to their credit, they picked me up.”

Trailing 6-5 after a leadoff home run in the top of the eighth inning, Cuthbertson catcher Robert Johnstone completed a two-run bottom of the eighth with a sacrifice fly.

“It feels great to prove all of the people wrong,” Johnstone said. “And it feels great to have a three-game series because we’ve been doing it all season long. We’re built for it and we’re ready to go.”

Cuthbertson (25-4) entered this year’s playoff as the No. 1 seed in the Western 4A bracket.

It wasn’t really a surprise for a program that began in 2010, had made the playoffs 14 out of 15 years and won at least one postseason game 13 times.

But the hole in the Cavaliers’ resume was a best-of-three Western finals series.

Cuthbertson had advanced within one victory of the Western finals in 2012, 2015 and 2017 and was two rounds away in 2010, 2013 and 2023.

This year’s team features future collegians in seniors Grant Aldredge (Western Carolina), Michael Clemente (Wofford) and Brayden Richards (Mars Hill) as well as junior commit Logan James (USC Upstate).

And with a best-of-three regional finals series coming up against two-time defending N.C. 4A champion T.C. Roberson this week, Skinner says the format suits them perfectly.

Game 1 is at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Cuthbertson. Game 2 is at Roberson and Game 3, if needed, will be back at Cuthbertson later this week.

This format mirrors Cuthbertson’s Southern Carolina 3A Conference schedule, which uses the three-game-per-week format for league matchups.

“We’re very comfortable with that,” said Skinner, who is in his third year as Cuthbertson head coach. “We played in the toughest conference in Charlotte if not in the state. And I have no problem saying that.

“In a three-game set in our league, you’ve got to fight and compete and grind through games. It’s just battle after battle. And, for us, it builds that relentless attitude.

“So we’re very comfortable in a three-game series.”

This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 5:45 AM.