Rams stand tall in last-inning stop of Scotland

PEMBROKE — After struggling to find the timely hit for most of the game and the tying run 90 feet from scoring with two outs, the Scotland baseball team took an unconventional gamble hoping to catch Purnell Swett off guard.

The gamble came up just a few feet short as Donta Green tried to steal home and was tagged out by Purnell Swett catcher Bladen Strickland on an 0-2 count to seal the Rams’ 1-0 Southeastern Conference win on Thursday night.

“We jumped up on Lucas’ (Oxendine) shoulders and rode him,” Purnell Swett coach Bryan McDonald said. “This is Southeastern Conference baseball. You’ve got to win the one-run games.”

The Scots (6-3, 1-1 SEC) left seven runners on base in the game, six coming in the third three innings with prime opportunities to push them across. Each time Scotland put runners on, Lucas Oxendine got out of the game unscathed.

“He’s proven why he’s our No. 1,” McDonald said. “He’s a kid we’re going to go to when we need a win.”

Oxendine struck out eight batters in his seven innings of work and allowed seven hits and one walk.

The Rams (7-2, 1-1 SEC) plated the one run needed to secure the win in the bottom of the first with the first two at bats of the game. Matthias Carter led off with a single and two pitches in the dirt that Phillips couldn’t handle behind the plate moved him to third base before scoring on a single through the infield from Ethan Chavis.

Carter, Chavis and McKinley Strickland each had one hit in the game.

Purnell Swett hosts Hoke at 4 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the Robeson County Slugfest.

“Hopefully we will swing the bat a little more and hopefully we will have a chance at the end to win it,” McDonald said.

Pirates rout Pinecrest to snap 3-game skid

LUMBERTON — After losing three straight games, including a pair by one run, the Lumberton baseball team took its frustrations out on Pinecrest, earning a 9-2 rout on Wednesday.

With the score tied at 2-all entering the bottom of the fifth, Lumberton (6-4, 1-1 SEC) exploded for six runs on six hits to blow the game open.

Alec Brewington pitched a complete game to earn the victory on the mound, and helped his cause with a trio of hits at the plate and two runs scored. Taylor Jacobs and Daniel Carter plated a pair of runs. Carter also finished with three hits.

“Well I was a little disappointed at first because we should’ve scored a few more runs early, but then we caught fire and had a big inning,” Lumberton coach Jeff McLamb said. “We had to have a split (with Pinecrest) and our guys responded well. We wanted to have some momentum so we could go into Slugfest hot. If we execute I think we can win it.”

Nolan Locklear gave the Pirates the lead for good with an RBI single in the fifth, igniting the six-run inning. Carter also added an RBI single, followed by a two-run single by Jacobs, and capped with an RBI single by Collin Gerald and a fielder’s choice.

Pinecrest took a brief lead in the third inning, but Carter hit a two-out RBI single to tie it back up in the bottom half of the inning.

The Pirates jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first after an RBI single by Evan Odum.

Pinecrest walks off against Purnell Swett softball

Two early runs weren’t enough for the Purnell Swett softball team to hold off Pinecrest on the road Thursday night as the Lady Patriots claimed a 3-2 win in the bottom of the seventh.

Purnell Swett jumped out to a 2-0 lead to start the game as Nakyra Mitchell scored on a Kaitlyn Hunt double after drawing a lead-off walk. Hunt scored on the next at bat on a Magan Barton single.

From there, Pinecrest put two runs up in the fourth and fifth on Lady Ram starter JaiLeana Deese. Deese was subbed out for Taylor Edwards in the seventh and the Lady Patriots plated the winning run on a one-out hit up the middle.

Hunt had a team-high two hits for Purnell Swett.

Staff Report