By David Rogers. JAMESTOWN, N.C. — Wriggling out of trouble in the bottom of the 7th inning with the game tied at 4-4, nobody out and the bases loaded, No. 18-seeded Watauga scored two more “small ball” runs in the top of the 8th against No. 15 Ragsdale. That was all the visitors needed. In the bottom half of the 8th inning relief pitcher Evan Burroughs got the first two Tiger batters to ground out, then struck out Ragsdale’s final hope to secure the Round 1 win, 6-4, in the the North Carolina 4A state baseball playoffs.
With the win, the Pioneers advance to Round 2 where they will face Northwestern Conference rival and No. 2-seeded South Caldwell, in Hudson. The Spartans dispatched No. 31 seeded Southeast Guilford, 7-5.
How It Happened
Watauga scored first in the top of the second inning when Dillon Zaragoza ripped a line drive to the left field fence for a double, then raced home on a hard ground ball through the infield to left.
Ragsdale, though, roughed up Watauga’s starting pitcher, Everett Gryder, for three runs in the bottom of the 2nd, aided by a double to left off the bat of sophomore infielder Thristen Figueroa, followed by a single, two hit batters and two walks as Gryder ran into some control problems.
Both teams got through the third and fourth innings without allowing a run, but in the top of the 5th inning, a single by Pioneer centerfielder Jake Blanton brought home Maddox Greene and Evan Burroughs to tie the game at 3-3. But with only one out, Watauga wasn’t done. Blanton made it all the way to third base on the play, which included a fielding error charged to Tiger right fielder, junior Braylon Louis. Cade Keller hit a difficult-to-handle grounder to shortstop, with Blanton scoring on the fielder’s choice throw to first.
The run gave Watauga a 4-3 lead, which they kept until Ragsdale scored a run in the bottom of the 7th inning to tie the contest.
Watauga’s Daniel Jones came on in relief of Gryder in the bottom of the third inning and pitched masterfully in the middle innings, aided by a double play in the sixth inning to quell any thoughts of a Tiger threat. A ground ball to second baseman Evan Burroughs was flipped to shortstop Maddox Greene, who then whistled the ball to a stretching first baseman, JT Cook, to just nip batter-turned-runner Camden McGill at the bag.
In the top of the 7th, Watauga nearly picked up a go-ahead run when Greene walked, stole second, then made it to third base on a Keller ground-out to second. But Watauga’s senior shortstop got caught rounding the base too far and was picked off in a rundown by Ragsdale catcher Dillon Bullard and third baseman Figueroa.
Jones encountered control problems to open the bottom of the 7th inning, giving up consecutive walks. With nobody out and runners on first and second, Burroughs came to the mound in relief. A sacrifice bunt by Ragsdale’s Bullard, combined with a fielding error by Keller on the play, resulted in the bases loaded with Tigers and nobody out. Burroughs didn’t help his cause any by hitting the next batter, forcing a run in and tying the game at 4-4 — and the bases were still loaded with nobody out.
The baseball gods smiled on Watauga on this evening. A liner to short left field couldn’t advance the runners and secured the first out of the inning. A popup to shortstop didn’t do the trick, either, for the second out. Then Burroughs got the next batter to ground out to shortstop, sending the game into extra innings.
Watauga took a “small ball” approach in their half of the 8th inning. First baseman JT Cook worked the count to full, then took ball four to leadoff the frame with a walk. Zaragoza laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Cook. Miller Hankins came on as a pinch runner for Cook, then scored the go-ahead run when Ragsdale’s first baseman mishandled a grounder by JJ Everett. When Pioneer catcher Chase Gillin singled deep to center, Everett came around to score an insurance run.
Ragsdale was able to escape the inning with no more damage but the Pioneers had jumped out to a 6-4 lead. With stellar defensive play by the infield and effective pitching by Burroughs, Watauga secured the win with a three-up, three-down bottom of the 8th.
With the win, Watauga advances to face No. 2-seeded South Caldwell in Hudson, currently scheduled for Friday, May 9, time to be determined.
4A West Round 1 Scores
- No. 1 Cuthbertson 11, No. 32 Glenn 0
- No. 16 Sun Valley 8, No. 17 Alexander Central 1
- No. 8 Mooresville 4, No. 25 Lake Norman 3
- No. 9 Myers Park 2, No. 24 Porter Ridge 1
- No. 5 West Forsyth 4, No. 28 Ardrey Kell 3
- No. 12 Reagan 10, No. 21 Hickory Ridge 0
- No. 20 South Iredell 7, No. 13 Asheville 6 (game not completed at press time)
- No. 4 Grimsley 11, No. 29 Davie 0
- No. 3 TC Robertson 14, No. 30 Northwest Guilford 5
- No. 14 Charlotte Catholic 8, No. 19 East Forsyth 4
- No. 6 Providence 5, No. 27 Southwest Guilford 1
- No. 11 Weddington 2, No. 22 South Mecklenburg 0
- No. 7 Hough 11, No. 26 Hopewell 2
- No. 10 Marvin Ridge 3, No. 23 Northern Guilford 2
- No. 18 Watauga 6, No. 15 Ragsdale 4
- No. 2 South Caldwell 7, No. 31 Southeast Guilford 5
3A West Games of Interest
- No. 25 Lake Norman Charter 3, Hibriten 0
- No. 3 Tuscola 10, Ashe County 0
- No. 6 AC Reynolds 9, No. 27 Pisgah 8
- No. 23 St. Stephens 17, No. 10 West Mecklenburg 3
- No. 21 Hickory was trailing No. 12 North Iredell, 3-1 (game not completed at press time)
2A West Games of Interest
- No. 24 Community School of Davidson 3, Maiden 0
- No. 4 Burns 6, No. 29 Newton-Conover 1
1A West Games of Interest
- No. 1 Cherryville 11, No. 32 Bradford 1
- No. 12 East Wilkes 8, No. 21 South Stokes 6
- No. 2 South Stanly 13, No. 31 Elkin 3
