SNOW HILL — Greene Central thought it had caught a break when Wendell Corinth Holders ace right-hander Jake Lewis couldn’t pitch in the teams’ 2A state playoff opener Friday night.
The second-seeded Rams caught no such break from the potent Pirates offense.
The hot-hitting visitors pounded a pair of GC pitchers for 13 hits, and Corinth Holders, the 3-seed from the Northern Carolina 2A Conference, ended the Rams’ season, 9-2, at the James Fulghum Athletic Complex.
“We knew coming in they could hit,” GC coach Scott Jones said. “Up and down the lineup, just about everybody they sent up to the plate hit .300 or better during the season.”
The Pirates (17-7) played twice on Tuesday, a regular-season makeup game against Louisburg and a second-place tiebreaker versus Roanoke Rapids. Lewis tossed six innings and was unable to go on Friday on just two days rest.
Corinth Holders didn’t need him at all, scoring in each of the first four innings and building a 7-1 advantage. The Pirates scored once in the first, three times in the second, twice in the third, and added a single run in the fourth. They lit up GC ace left-hander Ben Brann for six runs and nine hits in 2 2/3 innings.
“Ben hadn’t pitched since last Friday; maybe he was too rested,” Jones said. “Whatever the reason, he wasn’t nearly as sharp as he’s been for us all year.”
Right-hander Sam Berman, the Pirates’ No. 3 starter, demonstrated some ace-like qualities of his own, scattering seven hits in going the distance. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter until issuing a harmless base-on-balls to Chandler Barrow in the final inning.
Berman also battled through a shaky first-inning in which he allowed singles to Barrow, Chad Murphy and Kevin Ormond, whose base hit plated Barrow.
The Rams reached Berman for another run in the fourth on Dylan Taylor’s RBI base hit, but that was it for the GC offense.
Berman didn’t just excel on the mound; he did his part for the Pirates’ offense with three hits, two runs scored, and a pair of RBIs.
Austin Mooring and Murphy each collected two hits for the Rams.
It was the final varsity contest for five GC seniors: Brann, Murphy, Mason Head, Josh Head, and Montrell Warren.
“This team has nothing to be ashamed of,” Jones said. “After missing the playoffs last year they bounced back and tied for the conference championship. I just hope our underclassmen come back as hungry as this group was this year.”
Corinth Holders advances to play at Pittsboro Northwood or to host Louisburg in the second round.
Corinth Holders 132 100 2—9 13 1
Greene Central 100 100 0—2 7 0
Berman and Brewer; Brann, Mooring (3) and M. Head. W—Berman. L—Brann.