South Point advances to second round of baseball playoffs

BELMONT – Losing your last two starts is not usually the way an ace pitcher wants to go into the state playoffs.

For South Point junior left-hander Jeffrey Springs, it was no problem Friday night. Springs shook off his own personal slump and two weeks of official inactivity in leading the Red Raiders past Foard 9-3 in a N.C. Class 3A first-round game.

South Point (18-4), which has won at least one playoff game four straight seasons, advances into Tuesday’s second-round game at Enka (19-6). Enka, the Mountain Athletic Conference champion, routed East Henderson 11-0 in five innings Friday night in its opening-round game.

To advance, the Red Raiders used Springs and an efficient offensive attack. South Point had seven hits, but benefitted from seven Foard fielding errors and seven walks to score in a variety of ways.

In all, the Red Raiders had only one earned run. Not that it mattered in the first-round playoff victory.

"I’m glad we came out the way we did on offense," said Springs, whose team scored at least one run in five of its six innings at the plate. "Coach (Jason Lineberger) is always talking about peaking. I think we’re peaking right now."

The momentum came 10 days after South Point finished its regular season at Kings Mountain May 4 as the second-place finisher in the Big South 3A Conference.

"We did some intrasquad stuff and I think it really helped," Lineberger said of his team’s playoff preparations. "I think we played better tonight than before the break. So obviously the kids’ hard work paid off."

Springs agreed. He said he got a lot of repetition in the intrasquad scrimmages. He improved to 6-3 on the season, throwing 121 pitches and lasting into the seventh. Springs yielded seven hits, three runs and four walks while striking out five.

"I felt like mechanics had been off a little bit," said Springs, whose last start was April 30. "But the intrasquad practice games really helped me."

Ryan Huneycutt and Spencer Wiles had two hits apiece to lead the Red Raiders’ seven-hit offense. Wiles also had a team-high three RBIs, including two on a third-inning double down the left field line.

Weston Lawing added a two-run single in the third.

Josh Fulbright led Foard (11-15) with two hits and two RBI, including a solo homer in the seventh inning. Foard starter and loser Robert McKinney lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing six hits, five walks and eight runs (one earned) while striking out five.