HOLLY SPRINGS — A tough defensive night by Purnell Swett led to extra opportunities for Holly Springs Friday, and the Golden Hawks cashed in.
Holly Springs beat the Rams 10-1 in the second round of the 4A baseball state playoffs.
“Early on we gave up a few walks, and defensively we didn’t have a good night,” Purnell Swett coach Jeff Lamb said. “We didn’t make the plays we’ve been making all year. I think seven, eight errors. We had some tailor-made double plays, and it just wasn’t our night in the field, we didn’t make the plays. And they swung it extremely well. And anytime, in the playoffs, you give teams extra opportunities, it’s going to get you, and they got us tonight.”
Holly Springs (17-10), the No. 8 seed in the 4A East Region, scored one run in the first, three in the second and one in the third. No. 9 Purnell Swett (18-9) scored one run in the top of the fourth, but left more potential runs on the field before the Golden Hawks scored five in the bottom half to take a 10-1 lead. Neither team scored over the final three frames.
“We had bases loaded at that point with one out, and had an opportunity to get more, and it didn’t happen,” Lamb said. “At that point it was 5-1, and we had an opportunity to get back in it. Then they came in and hung five on us.”
Jacob Chavis and Easton Oxendine recorded Purnell Swett’s two hits in the game.
Jaythan Locklear retired all nine batters he faced in relief for the Rams.
Anthony Zezza had three hits and four RBIs for Holly Springs. Starting pitcher Cole Bowie allowed two hits and one run over five innings with six strikeouts; reliever Noah Rhoades pitched two hitless, scoreless innings with five strikeouts.
Purnell Swett saw its season end after finishing second in the United-8 Conference in the regular season and matching a school record with 18 wins.
“We had a lot of adversity throughout the year, but they made it the Slugfest championship, that’s something we haven’t done in a while; they got to the conference tournament championship, that hadn’t been done in a while,” Lamb said. “We just kept battling. They’ve overcome a lot, and baseball prepares you for life. … I told them, it’s not an accident they were still playing, because they put the work in. These guys start in August, and we’re getting there. It’s a process; this group raised the bar for the group behind them, so hopefully next year, we take it over 18 (wins) and we just keep right on plugging, keep building.”
Holly Springs will face the winner of Saturday’s game between No. 1 Ashley and No. 17 Millbrook in the third round.
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