LAURINBURG — Pinecrest didn’t bring their “A” game to McCoy Field on Tuesday, which left the door open for the Fighting Scots to pick up a crucial conference win.
Despite having a 3-2 lead heading into the top of the fifth inning Pinecrest senior and UNC commit Nick Pry slammed the door on the Scots attempted coup.
Pry zipped a double down the third base line to score Elliot Embler from third, who had reached on an infield ground ball. A single to left by Dax Ingram put runners in scoring position for Pry.
Pinecrest’s Hunter Hewitt connected on a fielder’s choice and made it safely to first as the Scots defense opted to tag Ingram out at the plate for the first out of the inning.
The Patriots pushed two more runs across before Scots head coach Chad Hill called a time out and pulled starter sophomore Michael Johnson.
In his four innings of work, Johnson allowed five runs off six hits with two errors and two strikeouts. Junior Austin Norton came on in relief and closed out the inning without the Patriots plating any additional runs.
The Scots offense, down 5-3, couldn’t get any sort of rally going as Pry settled in on the mound seeing four batters in the bottom of the fifth and three in the bottom of the sixth.
The Patriots added another run in the top of the seventh as Ingram reached on an infield ground ball and Pry reached on an error by Scots short stop Daly Marcano. A well-placed bunt by Pruitt moved runners into scoring position and a single to left by Will Helms scored Pry from third.
Norton worked his way out of the jam getting back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. In three innings, Norton allowed one run off three hits with one error, one walk and four strikeouts.
In comparison, Pry threw a complete game for the Patriots allowing three runs off four hits with zero errors and 13 strikeouts.
The Scots are a team known for late-inning rallies, but that wasn’t the case on Tuesday. An infield error allowed Scots freshman Stewart Evans to get on base, but strikeouts from Tyler Faulk, Trey Armstrong and Matt Sellers ended the game with a 6-3 Scots defeat.
The loss puts the Scots at 11-6 overall and 6-3 in the Sandhills Athletic Conference while Pinecrest moves to 14-3 overall and 8-1 in SAC-8 play.
The Patriots lead the league with their 8-1 record, one game ahead of Hoke County at 7-2. Jack Britt and Scotland are tied for third at 6-3 while Richmond falls to 5-4. The remaining three SAC-8 teams — Purnell Swett, Lumberton and Seventy-First — have losing records, eliminating them from a chance at the first SAC-8 title.
Scotland will wrap up their two-game series against Pinecrest on Friday in Southern Pines at 7 p.m. The Scots then conclude the regular season with games against Lumberton and Richmond.
Amber Hatten-Staley can be reached at 910-506-3170 or ahatten@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.
