Kinston’s baseball team ended its season on a roll.
Five Vikings players had a multi-hit game and seven of the starting nine had a hit in their 13-2 five-inning shellacking of SouthWest Edgecombe on Friday at Viking Field.
The win gave Kinston a string of three consecutive victories in Eastern Plains 2A Conference play after losing its first nine.
“This was a total team effort and resulted in a statement win,” Vikings coach Michael Ellsworth said. “Sometimes players play hard, work together, and try to achieve their goals and tonight everyone was pulling together and executing in all facets of the game to give the seniors a night to remember.”
Damien Williams went 3-for-3 with four runs scored and a stolen base and VeQuain Joyner was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Robert Blake went 2-for-3 and scored three times, Ryan Harrell went 2-for-2 with a double and scored twice and Will Deters went 2-for-3 and scored a run. Sam McLawhorn had two RBIs.
Kinston (7-15, 3-9) batted around in the first and second frames.
Deters earned the win. He struck out six while scattering five hits in five innings.
“We’ve had so many close games this season it was great for our guys to get way ahead and stay ahead. I can’t be any prouder of the players because they earned everything, made plays, and battled during their at-bats,” Ellsworth said. “I can’t be any prouder of their determination.”
NORTH LENOIR 10, GREENE CENTRAL 5: At North Lenoir, Luke Jackson homered and drove in three runs to help the Hawks end their season on a high note.
Jackson went 3-for-3 with two doubles and hit a two-run go-ahead homer in the fifth. He also picked up the win in relief, throwing 4 2/3 innings of one-run baseball before yielding to Noah Reese, who closed out the final frame.
Caleb Baird went 2-for-3 and three RBIs and Sammy West and Tyler Smith added a hit each for North Lenoir.
Davis Wilson was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and homered twice for the Rams. Chandler Barrow suffered the loss.
The Hawks finished their season at 6-15. They defeated Kinston 11-2 on Thursday.
Eastern Plains 2A Conference co-champion Greene Central (13-8), which had its seven-game win streak snapped, will play North Pitt at 7 p.m. on Monday at Greenville Conley to decide which team earns the league’s No. 1 playoff seed.