South Stanly stuns Cherryville in Game 2, advances to state title series

NORWOOD - Nothing went right for Cherryville, starting with the bus ride.

South Stanly scored 10 runs in the second inning and stunned the defending state champion Ironmen with a 16-3 win in five innings Saturday, closing out the best-of-three 1A West Region series in two games.

The Rebel Bulls (23-6), who won the afternoon game 5-2 in Cherryville, advanced to next weekend's state championship series against Topsail.

Cherryville (18-9) missed a turn on its way to this small town near Albemarle and arrived 30 minutes before scheduled first pitch. The home team shifted the start by 45 minutes to give the Ironmen adequate warm-up time, but Cherryville never looked ready against a team that had lost only twice on its home field.

"When it's your time, it's your time. It's their time," Cherryville coach Scott Heavner said. "You could see it from the minute they stepped out here. They were very confident. They just oozed of it and it kept carrying over and over."

South Stanly, which had never advanced this deep in the playoffs, scored three runs in the first inning in a sign of things to come. The Rebel Bulls took full command with 10 runs on seven hits in the second, sending 16 batters to the plate in the decisive inning.

The Rebel Bulls wound up with 14 hits against three pitchers and took advantage of three Cherryville errors. Thomas Bess started for the Ironmen but lasted only into the second inning. Cory Parks, who pitched six innings against Murphy on Thursday, came in relief but was ineffective. Seldom-used Chase Scott then took the mound in the third and went the rest of the way.

Cherryville went through a rough final week. The previous round's game against Murphy took four nights to complete. It was rained out the first two nights, then suspended on third. By the time Cherryville won that game on Friday, the Ironmen had to turn right back around and face South Stanly about 16 hours later. The Rebel Bulls had won their previous game on Tuesday. After South Stanly won Game 1, both teams packed up and headed an hour and 45 minutes to Norwood for Game 2.

"Are we tired? Yes. Was the Murphy ordeal emotionally and physically exhausting? Sure it was. But those are all excuses and we're not about excuses," Heavner said.

The game marked only the sixth time Cherryville had given up six or more runs this season. The most runs the Ironmen had given up before Saturday came in a 9-0 loss to East Rutherford on April 20.

"They were ready to play - not saying we weren't ready. They just did the things we didn't," said Parks, one of seven seniors on the roster. "They hit, they made the plays and they pitched. All the credit goes to them."

Ryne Poplin (8-1) pitched the full game for South Stanly, yielding three runs on four hits while striking out seven and issuing two walks. He also led the offensive onslaught by slugging a pair of homers to left. His two-run shot in his second at-bat of the second inning gave the Rebel Bulls a 13-0 lead. He then hit a three-run homer in the third to make it 16-0.

Cherryville showed signs of life in the fourth when Parks drew a lead off walk and Bess doubled to center. Bryan DaCanal then drove both of them in with a single. DaCanal later scored on Nate Thornburg's grounder to complete the scoring for Cherryville.

"I hate it when coaches say play for pride," DaCanal said. "I always think if I'm on the field, I'm playing to win it. But when it's 13-0, you just have to relax and just have fun and savor the moment, especially being a senior."

Bess, DaCanal, Ryan Craft and Chase Scott had one hit each for Cherryville.

Poplin finished 3-for-3 for South Stanly. Colten Burris, Brett Fraley, Matt Lisk, Cody Treece and Casey Henderson tallied two hits each.

You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.