AYDEN — Ayden-Grifton gave its longtime coach something to remember for the road.
Mike Stancil went the distance and Connor Bowen’s pinch-hit two-run double in the fifth helped open things up as the Chargers defeated South Lenoir 7-2 on Wednesday to claim the Ray Avery Easter Tournament crown in the last one that head coach Chris Ross will be a part of.
After the game Ross, who has been at the program’s helm since 1983, announced to members of the media that he was stepping down at season’s end.
“This is bittersweet. This is my last Easter tournament,” said Ross, who fought back tears. “Thirty years I’ve done this. The good Lord’s blessed me. I will always remember this one.
“The kids knew this was my last one, and they played as hard as I think they’ve played all year long. They gave me a very good present today.”
This one lived up to the hype early. The Chargers (11-4), who were going for a 3-0 run in their own event, were facing a South Lenoir (5-7) team that was coming off a big win over Farmville Central the night before.
The two teams will also be conference foes next year as members of the Eastern Carolina 2A Conference — which Ross will preside over, he said — adding to a small but budding rivalry between the schools that meet in this tournament, now in its 17th year, just about every season.
But in the fifth, Ayden-Grifton ended the hype.
The Chargers scored six runs on three walks, run-scoring doubles by Bowen and Clay Wilson and an error.
Walker Stocks’ RBI single led to the first run that broke a 1-1 tie, then Bowen, who came in to hit for Jake Wilkins, plated two more with a liner to right-center field that scored Blake Allen and James Dykes.
Wilson followed with a double of his own that scored Bowen to make it 6-1, then Hunter Cannon reached on an error to score Cody Conway, who walked.
The Blue Devils used two pitchers in the inning — starter Will Graves and Justin Howard — and both had a hard time finding the strike zone.
“It was just a team effort — pesky hitting, good pitching,” Ross said. “I pulled every card I knew as a coach.”
Until the big inning, this one was tied and as tight as expected. Allen drove home a run in the top of the first — Ayden-Grifton played as the visitor on its own field — then South Lenoir tied it with Trint Turner’s ground-rule double in the second.
It was a stalemate from then on until the fifth. Stancil struck out seven and gave up one earned run on six hits with zero walks. Conversely, walks plagued the Blue Devils. Graves, Howard and Wade Wetherington combined for five walks and 11 hits.
Brett Davis went 3-for-3 to lead South Lenoir, which had only six hits.
Pamlico and Ayden-Grifton each went 3-0 in the event, but the tie breaker went to the Chargers. They allowed only four runs in three games while the Hurricanes gave up seven.
Although Ross won’t be in a uniform at Chargers’ games next season, he will still be a part of what’s going on. He said he is returning to the classroom where he will teach physical education and will also remain the school’s athletic director, a position he’s held since 2010.
But the idea that he will not coach in this event next year hit Ross close to home.
“When you’ve done something for 30 years it’s going to be tough to walk away from it,” he said, “but it’s the right time to walk away from it.”
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.
Ayden-Grifton 100 060 0—7 11 2
S. Lenoir 010 001 0—2 6 4
Stancil and Cannon; Graves, Howard (5), Wetherington (6) and Davis. W—Stancil. L—Graves.