Alexander Central stops Marvin Ridge, 4-1, advances to 4th round of NCHSAA 4A playoffs
Neither Marvin Ridge (15-13) nor Alexander Central (15-12) could have seen this coming: a meeting in the third round of the weather-delayed state 4A baseball playoffs Thursday.
Neither team won its conference. Both squads hovered around .500 on the season, yet here they were finally playing after two rain-soaked days postponed the original start date.
Marvin Ridge was seeded No. 18 in the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs and Alexander Central was 26th.
And, when the teams finally got to play, Cougars’ starting pitcher Grayson Anderson was about all Alexander Central needed.
He tossed a complete game, leading his team to a 4-1 win. Alexander Central will play a fourth round, or regional semifinal game, at Charlotte Catholic later this week.
The Cougars — who rallied from an 8-0 deficit to beat South Meck in the second round — are just two rounds away from a state finals appearance.
“We’re excited,” said Alexander Central coach Pete Hardee. “We haven’t played real well all year, but we’re finally starting to play good defense and pitch well.”
Anderson, the junior right handler, scattered five hits over seven innings, while striking out five and allowing no earned runs despite having traffic on the bases all night.
“Going forward, we pretty much need to do the same thing we did out here tonight,” Anderson said. “If we play good defense and get those timely hits, we can beat anyone.”
Anderson got plenty of help from his teammates. Drew Chapman, Tyler Kerley and Koa Mikeal had RBI hits in the first inning, and Alexander Central cruised from there.
Three who mattered
Tyler Heine, Marvin Ridge: The junior lefty battled through five innings, but Alexander Central eventually tired him out.
Grayson Anderson, Alexander Central: The junior right handed wasn’t especially dominant, but he got every big out his team needed.
Drew Chapman, Alexander Central: The senior had what wound up being the game-winning RBI in the first inning.
