How injury caused South Brunswick baseball to blow 5-run lead in NCHSAA championship game
HOLLY SPRINGS — It’s the worst question in sports.
When you have to ask, “What if,” rarely is it after a good situation. And the South Brunswick baseball team learned that the hard way Saturday.
Up by five runs early in the winner-take-all game of the NCHSAA Class 3A championship series, an injury to starting pitcher and cleanup hitter Banks Hartman changed everything.
South Rowan piled on the runs late, winning 11-6 and sending South Brunswick home as the state runner-up.
WALKER JENKINS: MLB prospect's talent, trust put South Brunswick into NCHSAA 3A baseball title series
PARTY LIKE IT'S 1988: South Brunswick baseball's past, present collide in new state championship run
CAMERON BURGESS: Senior right-hander puts South Brunswick baseball one win from 3A state final
OFF TO THE FINALS: South Brunswick baseball moves on after 3A East Regional sweep
"You hate to ever lose like that, you're cruising along and everything's looking good for you," South Brunswick coach Mike Anderson said. "And all of a sudden, that happens."
Hartman felt discomfort in his throwing arm in the bottom of the second inning and came out. Reliever Alex Sanchez held strong through the second and third, but everything unraveled after that.
The Raiders (30-6) used a host of two-strike singles, two wild pitches, two errors and a balk over the next two innings to score nine runs and turn a 6-2 deficit into an 11-6 lead.
The Cougars (25-5) had their chances to make it an even bigger lead at the start of the game, but stranded 10 runners – including the bases loaded twice when Hartman’s spot in the order came up after he had to leave.
Could the team’s best contact hitter have driven in a run or two and kept innings going? The Cougars, unfortunately, weren’t able to find out.
Still, this is the team’s best postseason run since 1988, when it won the 2A championship and finished in the top five in the final USA TODAY high school poll.
"I'm really proud," said Cameron Burgess, one of five seniors on the team. "A lot of players stepped up this season. All 16 of those guys did something to help us win."
Throughout the playoffs, the program’s alums had called with advice, pointers and encouragement.
"The players, the coaches, the community – we've not experienced that since that time," Anderson said. "They've been able to accomplish this season through their hard work, dedication, sacrifice."
Game 2: South Rowan 4, South Brunswick 2
In Game 2, South Brunswick scored twice in the bottom of the first inning, but could get no more in a 4-2 loss that played out in a similar fashion to Game 1, when South Brunswick trailed by three runs early and rallied to win.
In Game 2, the Cougars had two runners thrown out at the plate and also had a runner picked off first, while South Rowan scored in the third, fifth and seventh innings to force the winner-take-all finale.
Dan Spears is the sports editor for the Wilmington StarNews, and Southeast Regional sports editor for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at Dan.Spears@StarNewsOnline.com or on Twitter @DanSpears.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: South Brunswick baseball falls in NCHSAA championship after key injury
