State 2A baseball playoffs

Wolfpack wallops
East Duplin 11-1

Whiteville High catcher Beret Proctor drives a pitch in the Wolfpack’s 11-1 victory over visiting East Duplin in the second round of the state 2A baseball playoffs. Whiteville, now holding a 15-6 record, will travel to play West Bladen Friday night at 7 in third-round play.

Chase Rhodes

By DAN BISER
Sports Editor

Whiteville High bats continued to explode Tuesday night in the Wolfpack’s 11-1 victory over East Duplin in the second round of the state 2A high school baseball playoffs at Legion Stadium.

Senior shortstop Ben Deans highlighted a seven-run third inning with a grand slam home run and junior centerfielder Sprandon Mahoney had three hits, including two doubles.

Mahoney’s second double in bottom of the fifth inning brought home two runs to bring the game to an early end by way of the 10-run rule.

Coach Brett Harwood’s Wolfpack had opened the playoffs last Friday by defeating North Brunswick by an identical 11-1 score in six innings.

Junior righthander Chase Rhodes yielded a lead-off home run to the Panthers’ Brandon Thigpen before holding East Duplin in check the rest of the way. Rhodes gave up three hits and struck out seven in five innings.

Whiteville, now carrying a 15-6 record, will travel to play West Bladen (19-5) Friday in a 7 p.m., third round match-up. The Southeastern Conference champion West Bladen squad advanced Tuesday by rallying to defeat South Brunswick 3-2. Whiteville and West Bladen met earlier this year in the Jiggs Powers Memorial Tournament with Whiteville claiming a 6-4 victory over the Knights.

After giving up the lead-off home run to Thigpen, Rhodes retired the side by striking out the next three batters.

Whiteville tied the score in the bottom of the first inning when Mahoney led off and was hit by a pitch, and scored two outs later on a towering double by Lloyd Enzor to deep centerfield.

The Wolfpack went ahead in the second inning when Chris Harris led off and was hit by pitch and scored from third on a two-out single by Mahoney.

In third inning. Michael Wright, Enzor and Zach Stanley hit consecutive singles and Harris was hit by another pitch. Deans then came to the plate and drove his grand slam home run to right-center.

“That’s the first home run I’ve ever hit here (Legion Stadium),” Deans said after the game. “I feel like I got all of it.”

Deans’ slam made the score 7-1 and the Wolfpack added two more runs in the third behind a Mahoney double and two East Duplin errors.

In the fifth inning, Rhodes reached first on a two-out error and Ian Hooks drew a walk. Mahoney followed and ripped a 3-2 pitch to left-center to score both runners and end the game.

Rhodes said he was able to calm himself down some after giving up the early home run.

“I knew it was my game to pitch and I knew I could do a lot better,” he said. “My fastball was really working well tonight, and I pitched with a lot of confidence.”

Harwood said he was pleased to see his team come into the playoffs with a lot of aggressive play.

“We did a good job of swinging the bats and we couldn’t have asked for a better pitching job from Chase,”

Harwood said. “We really have to stay sharp because things are only going to get tougher from here on.

It was the eighth straight win for the Wolfpack as well as its third state playoff victory over East Duplin in as many years.

Last season, the Wolfpack eliminated the Panthers 5-4 in the third round, and in 2006 Whiteville took a 2-0 opening-round win over East Duplin.

The Wolfpack has advanced to third-round play for the third time in the last four seasons..

J. Kennedy, B. Kennedy (3) and Sandlin, J. Kennedy (3); Rhodes and Proctor.