Prep baseball: Cuthbertson routs Roberson; North Lincoln wins in Game 1 of regionals
Cuthbertson baseball hoped to make a statement on Tuesday night against T.C. Roberson.
Mission accomplished.
The Cavaliers blew the game open in the first inning with eight runs, then added five more in the second and coasted to a stunning 13-0 rout of visiting T.C. Roberson in the first game of the 4A West best-of-three regional championship series.
That’s the same T.C. Roberson that has won the last two 4A state championships.
And it’s the same T.C. Roberson that hadn’t lost by more than 10 runs in three seasons.
In fact, Cuthbertson’s 13-run victory Tuesday was Roberson’s most lopsided loss in 11 years — since a 14-0 setback to Charlotte Christian on April 5, 2014.
The series isn’t over, of course. The teams will play Game 2 on Thursday night in Asheville, with a possible Game 3 back in Waxhaw on Friday evening.
But Cuthbertson needs to win just one more game this week to earn a spot in its first-ever state championship baseball series.
The Rams (23-6) certainly must feel stunned by what happened Tuesday evening in Waxhaw.
The big blow for Cuthbertson (26-4) was a grand slam, but plenty of fireworks preceded that.
After getting two runners aboard with one out, the Cavaliers took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on Brayden Richards’ three-run homer down the left-field line.
Ryan Watters made it 5-0 with an RBI single, and Jackson Waeghe had a key at-bat, earning a walk after Roberson starter Chappy Smith had gotten a 1-2 count on Waeghe.
With the bases loaded, leadoff hitter Logan James came to the plate, and he lined a shot down the right-field line, clearing the fence for a grand slam. That put Cuthbertson up 8-0.
But the Cavaliers weren’t finished.
Brady Williamson made it 9-0 with an RBI single in the second, and Nathan Wilson dashed home on a wild pitch for a 10-0 lead. Than Gavin Eldredge lined a double to right field, scoring two more runs. James made it 13-0 with an RBI single.
Meanwhile, Aldredge pitched no-hit ball for three innings and allowed the powerful Rams’ attack only two hits.
The game was halted in the fifth inning by the “mercy” rule.
North Lincoln 5, North Davidson 4: North Lincoln took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Western 3A regional championship. North Lincoln (20-8) won its 11th straight game and can advance to the state final with a win on Thursday. The game is set for 7 p.m. at North Davidson.
