High school baseball: Two locals vie for state titles this weekend

Two local high school baseball teams with very different resumes have reached the same point.

Both could end the weekend as state champions.

The 3A South Central Falcons are the No. 14 seed out of the East Region and, aside from an opening-round win against a similarly seeded team, the Falcons (24-4) have done it all as decided underdogs to this point, playing almost entirely on the road in the postseason.

On Friday at 5 p.m. at Ting Stadium in Holly Springs, South Central will try to continue the trend when it opens its three-game state title series against No. 1 West Region seed East Rowan (32-2).

Meanwhile, the Greene Central Rams entered the 2A postseason with an undefeated record and as the top seed in the East.

The playoff run for the Rams (27-1) hasn't necessarily been easy, including getting blemished for their lone loss of the season to this point in the 2A semifinal series against Whiteville.

But GC has shown great pitching depth and timely hitting is still the best formula to win a title, and the Rams carry plenty of momentum into the 2A championship series against fellow No. 1 seed Burns (31-1). That game also is set for 5 p.m. Friday at Burlington Athletic Stadium.

Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 3 in all series are to be played on Saturday.

Following is a closer look at the matchups.

South Central vs. East Rowan

The remarkable late-season run for the Falcons began back in mid-April when they were still battling for position in the Big Carolina 3A/4A Conference. SC Hasn't lost since then, riding an unlikely 13-game winning streak into the championship series.

The Falcons aren't just surviving either. Their upsets include wins over No. 3 Cape Fear, No. 6 Currituck, No. 7 Croatan and a two-game sweep of No. 3 Terry Sanford in the semis.

Those wins are by a combined 46-7 score.

East Rowan hadn't lost a game since late March until a setback in the first game of the semifinals against Tuscola, marking the end of a 23-game winning streak.

The Mustangs responded with 12-2 and 6-3 wins to claim the series.

Greene Central vs. Burns

The two top teams in the 2A ranks both have just one loss this season.

The Rams' lone setback was a 4-3 loss in extra innings to Whiteville in the opening game of the East Regional final series, and it was a wake-up call as they pounded out 4-0 and 9-1 wins to take the series and vault into the championship.

GC has outscored its playoff opponents by a score of 45-6, including four shutouts.

Burns, the defending 2A state champion, also charged into the playoffs with a perfect record, not losing until a 3-1 setback to East Rutherford in Game 2 of the West Region final series.

The Bulldogs then gutted out an 8-5 in the deciding Game 3.