High School Baseball: Rams soar into state title series

SNOW HILL — Greene Central’s Riley Radford picked the right time — and the perfect opponent — to become a one-man Wolfpack.

The sophomore not only tossed a complete-game one-hitter on the mound, but he also went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and an RBI double at the plate in the Rams’ 9-1 victory over Whiteville on Friday night in Game 3 of the NCHSAA Class 2A Eastern Regional baseball series in front of an overflowing crowd at the James R. Fulghum Athletic Complex.

“I don’t normally get to pitch much, but I knew I had to step my game up tonight,” Radford said. “This was my night to show it. I knew I had to show that I deserved to be out here on the mound. I went out there and gave it all I got and came back with a ‘W.’”

Greene Central (27-1) won the best-of-three series 2-1 and will play fellow No. 1 seed Burns (31-1) in the NCHSAA Class 2A best-of-three baseball state championship series.

Meanwhile, the remarkable run of the 14th-seeded South Central Falcons (24-4) continues in the 3A championship series later this week when they lock horns with the No. 1 seed from the West Region in East Rowan (32-2).

Game 1 in both state championship series are scheduled for Friday, with Game 2 and the if-necessary Game 3 scheduled for Saturday. Game times were not announced as of press time.

Radford’s lone hit yielded was to the Wolfpack’s Ashton Hammonds to start the fifth inning. Braden Burress corralled the ball in shallow center field, but not in time to throw to first for the out. Radford allowed an unearned run — Hammonds eventually scored on a throwing error with two out — and struck out five without walking a batter.

“He really pounded the zone,” Greene Central coach Ben Brann said. “That’s something that we emphasize. You can’t give that Whiteville team free bases. If you give them free bases, they’re going to be efficient and they’re going to score.”

Radford wasted no time giving the Rams’ starting pitchers in the first two games — Austin Hardy and Burress — credit for his pitching performance.

“They helped me a tremendous amount,” Radford said. “They gave me all the information I needed about the batters, and I shut them down for them.

“I knew I had a great defense behind me and that’s all I needed.”

After a fast-paced first three-and-a-half innings that were played in just 35 minutes, Greene Central’s Will Radford and Riley Radford were both hit by pitches to start the bottom of the fourth inning. Will Radford scored on a single up the middle by Noah Uzzell that was just out of the reach of Whiteville shortstop Will Fisher for a 1-0 advantage.

The Rams, after allowing the run to Hammonds, delivered the knockout in the fifth inning.

Brady Anderson fought back from an 0-2 count to lead off with a walk. Two batters later, Burress and his .613 batting average were intentionally walked. Greene Central made sure the decision backfired as Easton Creech singled to drive in Anderson, and Will Radford singled to not only score Burress, but also chase Whiteville starter Grayson Creech from the game.

Riley Radford greeted reliever Brycen Edwards by blasting a 1-2 pitch over the left-field fence for a three-run home run and a 6-1 lead.

“Honestly, I couldn’t believe it,” Radford said. “I thought (Whiteville left field Luke Odham) was going to catch it, but it ended up carrying out.”

Greene Central left no doubt in the sixth, adding three more runs, including Will Radford’s double to the fence that scored Easton Creech.

Easton Creech was 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored.

Whiteville won Game 1, 4-3, in eight innings in Snow Hill on Tuesday in a game where Greene Central committed five errors and suffered their first loss of the season.

“I think the next day, everybody was great again,” Brann said. “I think they understood that it was kind of an anomaly. That’s not really the way we play. We’ve been playing great all year, then to have our worst game and lose by one in extras.”

“There wasn’t any talk,” Riley Radford said. “All we had to do was flush it. We know, if we play like we’re supposed to, we’re the better team. We’re going to come out on top.”

The Rams responded with a 4-0 victory in Game 2 on Thursday in Whiteville, setting up Friday’s decisive victory. Greene Central committed only one error in the last two games.

Greene Central will be in pursuit of its sixth state baseball title, having won it all in 1972, ’80, ’87, ’90 and 2007. Radford’s father, Darren, was on the 1987 championship team coached by James “Rabbit” Fulghum.

“We’re going to dominate out there,” Radford said. “We’re going to go out there and give it all we’ve got, and hopefully come out on top.”

Whiteville finished with a 24-3 record.