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East Gaston first baseman Ricky Martin tags out Brett Austin in the Warriors' 8-0 loss to Providence.
By Brad Coville/Special to the Gazette
East Gaston bats go silent in season-ending loss
MOUNT HOLLY - Providence pitcher Will Helms said he was just trying to get the ball over the plate.
He did much more than that.
The senior left-hander pitched a near perfect game, allowing just one hit while ending East Gaston's season with an 8-0 win Tuesday in the second round of the 4A state playoffs.
Helms, recruited to pitch and hit for Appalachian State next season, silenced East Gaston's all night and tossed just 68 pitches in a complete-game win. He struck out only five batters, but his defense did the rest on an error-free night.
"I was just trying to throw strikes, get it over the plate," Helms said. "It's a lot easier when you have a defense like that making plays for you."
While Providence moves on to the district round, East Gaston ends its turnaround season with a 16-9 record after earning the Big South 3A/4A Conference's top 4A seed.
Senior catcher Jason Borjas delivered East Gaston's lone hit - a ground rule double that bounced over the right-center field fence in the second inning. Borjas struck out on his last two at-bats, however.
"He came strong with his fastball and just knew what to pitch," Borjas said. "He was strong all night."
East Gaston starter A.J. Bailey couldn't match him, even though he pitched five consecutive shutout innings. The problem was the first inning, when the junior right-hander got off to a rocky start by giving up three runs on two hits and a hit batsman.
Bailey didn't give up another run until the sixth when he walked Helms with two outs and then gave up a two-run homer to Eric Semenivk.
Warriors ace left-hander Jay Puckett took the mound in the seventh but couldn't shut down the tradition-rich Panthers. The sophomore faced nine batters while surrendering up three runs on three hits.
East Gaston also hurt its cause with a pair of errors, but it didn't seem to matter on a night when Helms was so effective.
Afterward, East Gaston coach Randy Sellers talked about how tickled he was to make it this far after going 4-18 last year.
"Not only did we make the playoffs, but we won a playoff game," Sellers said.
The Warriors returned eight starters from last season and used the experience to their advantage on their way to a third-place finish in the Big South and a county tournament championship.
P 300 002 3 - 8 8 0
EG 000 000 0 - 0 1 2
W - Helms (6-2). L - Bailey (5-4). HR - Providence, E. Semenivk.
You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.
