AYDEN — In terms of potential playoff implications, Friday afternoon’s Carolina 1A Conference tilt between Goldsboro Rosewood and Ayden-Grifton was supremely important.
The game pitted two of the league’s top teams in a battle for first place, and the Chargers made the most of an opportunity to stay in the driver’s seat in the league race with an 8-7 win.
The win avenged a 5-4 loss at Rosewood on March 19 and extended the Chargers’ current winning streak to seven games. More importantly, it put them a game ahead of the Eagles in the conference standings, in a first-place tie with North Duplin.
“This was a big win so as to avoid a sweep,” Ayden-Grifton coach Chris Ross said. “We split with them, and the worst we can do is split with North Duplin. It’s probably going to get real hairy down the stretch before it’s over.”
While the conference’s No. 1 seed is still very much up for grabs, both teams recognized the importance of Friday’s matchup, though both squads squandered more than their fair share of scoring opportunities, leaving a combined 18 runners on base.
Despite the missed opportunities, it didn’t take long for either team to plate its first runs.
After the Chargers’ Mike Stancil struck out the side in the first, Ayden-Grifton (15-4, 5-1) pushed three runs across in the home half of the inning on an RBI double by Blake Allen that was followed by a two-run single from James Dykes (3-for-4, double, three RBIs).
Rosewood (5-12, 4-2) responded by sending nine to the plate in the second inning. The Eagles scored five runs, capped by a three-run homer from leadoff hitter Bryce McKeel (2-for-5).
The Chargers tied the game with clutch hits from Cody Conway (2-for-2, two RBIs) and Stancil in the second, and added runs in the third, fifth and sixth, but the team also stranded at least one runner in every inning.
“Offensively, I give a lot of credit to Cody Conway,” Ross said of his second baseman, who was hitting in the nine spot after recent struggles at the plate. “He had two great RBI hits, and both were with two strikes.”
For Conway, the game carried extra meaning due to the tight race for the league’s top spot.
“I knew this was a big game,” he said. “When we had a runner on third with two strikes, I knew I had to put it in play, and I did what I had to do.”
Following a rocky second inning for Stancil, Ross lifted his starter after a leadoff walk in the third in favor of Connor Bowen, who pitched five solid innings to earn the win. He scattered nine hits, surrendered two runs (one earned) and struck out three.
“Bowen was able to get his curveball across,” Ross said. “They were sitting dead-red on Stancil, and that’s why I decided to make a change.”
The move worked, though the Eagles had several chances to tie or take the lead, including in the seventh inning. Trailing by two, Rosewood got its leadoff man on with an infield single. A throwing error put men on the corners with nobody out, and a safety squeeze by Will Lane closed the gap to 8-7 and put a man on second base with one out. But Bowen was up to the task, as he induced a fly ball to center field and a sharp liner to shortstop Clay Wilson to end it.
“They were the only team to beat us in the conference,” Conway said. “Now we have an edge on everybody. Hopefully, we can keep it that way.”
Rosewood 050 001 1—7 14 2
Ayden-Grifton 321 011 x—8 11 2
Gurley, Howell (5) and Breedlove; Stancil, Bowen (3) and Cannon. W—Bowen. L—Gurley.