Wildcats suffer heart-breaking loss in first round
LAWNDALE — Baseball’s best-known sage — Yogi Berra — actually got this one right. It was déjà vu all over again.For the second time this season, Burns was only three outs away from a one-run defeat on their home field against North Gaston. just as they did in the early regular-season matchup, the Bulldogs found a way to come from behind and pull out a win.This time the 2-1 triumph came in the opening round of the 3A playoffs and kept the Bulldogs season going.Burns (17-5), co-champions of the South Mountain Athletic Conference, will host a second-round contest Tuesday night.Until the bottom of the seventh, Burns had managed only two hits on North lefthander Jared Wallace, who fanned seven and walked two (one intentional).“He did a really good job against us, he kept us off balance,” Burns coach David Wise said.Burns finally came alive when the pressure was at its peak. Brandon Alexander dropped a one-out double down the right field line. Phillip Black then singled him to third before Josh Beam’s single down the first base line tied the game.Ethan Carpenter then flied to center deep enough to plate Black with the game winner.Even though he was nervous, Burns pitcher Dustin Greene knew his teammates would get the job done.“He (Wallace) had been throwing us outside all night,” said Greene. “our guys just had to knock it the other way.“That’s the way we’ve been all year. We’re not giving up. This was a big-time team effort.”Greene went the distance allowing one unearned run and five hits with nine strikeouts. that matched Wallace’s strong effort. “He did a good job pitching out of trouble,” Wise said of his pitcher’s performance. “the main thing was he kept us in the game and gave us a chance.”North had scored a run in the top of the fifth. Nate Potter had doubled, then dashed for third on Josh Kahlig’s bunt. Greene bounded off the mound to field it, wheeled to third, but then decided to go to first. His throw was wide of the mark and Potter motored to the plate.“I made that one bad throw,” Greene said, “but I knew I had to hold them right there and keep us in it.”the Wildcats (13-10) failed to execute on a squeeze bunt try and Greene then got a groundout to end it.“I said before, in the playoffs, it’s about surviving and we did,” said Burns’ Wise. “That’s the type of kids we have. they give it every bit of 100 percent.”
Wildcats suffer heart-breaking loss in first round
