RMA baseball comes up short in NCISAA Division 2A title series

ASHEBORO — Rocky Mount Academy’s baseball team came up short in its bid to become state champions, as Wayne Country Day won the second game 10-0 in five innings on Saturday morning to sweep the Eagles in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association Division 2A Championship Series at McCrary Park in Asheboro.

The Chargers, the No. 1 seed, ended their season 28-4 overall. They won the first game 8-0 on Friday night.

Rocky Mount Academy, the No. 3 seed, finished 15-6 overall as the Carolina Independent Conference champions.

WCDS junior right-hander Gabe Adams, a Campbell University commit, limited the Eagles to only two hits in the decisive contest: a first-inning single by his pitching counterpart, Parker Sherrod, and a second-inning single by Carson Cross. Adams retired eight of the final 10 batters he faced before giving way to Ayden West, who hit Isaac Calhoun with a pitch with two outs but coaxed a fly ball to centerfield for the championship-clinching out.

RMA stranded six runners, including two in the first and fourth innings.

WCDS started the scoring with two runs in the top of the first inning.

Cameron Aycock started with a single, and a bobble in the outfield moved him to second base. Davis Albert’s grounder moved Aycock to third, and after Wyatt Lassitter was hit by a pitch, Landon Sutton doubled them both home.

RMA, who was no-hit by Adams the last time the teams faced each other in the regular season, avoided that this time when Sherrod laced a two-out single to right and Luke Holloman walked in the bottom of the first, but a groundout ended the frame.

The Chargers added three more runs in the second. Aycock’s sacrifice fly plated one run, and Albert followed with a two-run home run to right to make it 5-0.

Cross’s single to center with one out in the second gave the Eagles their third baserunner, but a flyout and groundout ended the frame.

Sterling Bass’s sacrifice fly scored Gage Meredith (running for Adams after a single), but RMA turned a double play to end the frame when rightfielder Donaven Wright threw to second base to nail Tanner Woodard trying to advance.

The Eagles then put two more runners on base in the bottom of the fourth as Seth Tickel was hit by a pitch with one out and Cross walked with two outs, but Adams coaxed a groundout to end that threat.

WCDS added its final four runs in the top of the fifth inning (all with two outs) on five hits (Cameron Dearing, Bass, Zach Taylor and Albert), a walk (Everett Johnson) and a hit batter (Ben Seegars).

RMA tried to extend the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Isaac Calhoun was hit by a pitch with two outs, but WCDS reliever West induced a flyout to centerfield to end the contest and start the celebration for the Chargers.

Sherrod suffered the loss on the mound for RMA. He gave up nine hits, struck out one, walked three and hit two batters.

Game One

WCDS 8, RMA 0

The Rocky Mount Academy baseball team dropped the first game to Wayne Country Day, 8-0, in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 2A Championship Series Friday night at McCrary Park.

The top seeded Chargers improved to 27-4 overall while Rocky Mount Academy, the No. 3 seed, dropped to 15-5 overall.

RMA managed just three hits against WCDS southpaw Sterling Bass, who pitched a complete-game shutout with five strikeouts and one walk.

The Eagles had baserunners in the first inning (Jordan Wright reached on an error and Gehrig Miller walked), but Wright was tagged out in a rundown between first and second and the Chargers turned a double play to end the inning.

WCDS failed to score in the first after stranding two runners but took control with a four-run second frame. Bass smashed a two-run home run to right field, while Cameron Aycock added a run-scoring triple and later scored on a wild pitch.

RMA put runners on base in the second (Seth Tickel double) and third (Donaven Wright infield single) but couldn’t get the big hit to keep the innings going.

The Chargers tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-run double by Davis Albert and the other run on a groundout.

RMA got a double from Pulley in the fifth inning, but he was left stranded. WCDS added its final run on doubles from Bass and Cameron Dearing in the bottom of the fifth.

NOTABLE

Only five players had hits for RMA in the two games: Sherrod, Cross, Seth Tickel, Kaiden Pulley and Donaven Wright.

The Eagles had just 11 baserunners combined in the championship series: Tickel and Cross, twice each; and Sherrod, Holloman, Calhoun, Jordan Wright, Miller, Pulley and Donaven Wright, once each.

The game was the final one in the high school baseball careers of Isaac Calhoun, Luke Holloman, Jordan Wright (Barton baseball commit), Cross, Sherrod (North Carolina Wesleyan baseball commit) and Marti McKnight (N.C. Wesleyan commit for football).