Scots advance in playoffs after beating Cardinal Gibbons 12-8

The Scotland High School varsity baseball team survived a hit parade Tuesday night in Raleigh against Cardinal Gibbons to advance to the next round of the 4A state playoffs.

The Scots totalled 16 hits, while the Crusaders had 15 hits of their own, but ultimately, Scotland prevailed 12-8. The team will host Hoggard in the second round, which beat Heritage 5-4 in its first round matchup.

“Great team win,” said head coach Greg Wrape. “The guys had great energy and never gave in. We had some really good at-bats and I thought we fought really hard when we got down in the count. (They) put hard balls in play and made things happen.”

Scotland struck first with a run in the first inning, but the Crusaders steadily built a 6-2 lead by the end of the fourth inning.

Then, the Scots scored a whopping seven runs in the top of the fifth inning to retake the lead. Facing two outs after a run scored on a fielder’s choice double play, Scotland scored runs off base hits in five of the next eight at-bats to close out the inning. The team then added three more runs in the sixth and seventh innings to build its lead against the Crusaders.

All but two Scotland players in the lineup recorded at least one hit.

The Scots were led by junior Parker Byrd who was 4-for-4 with two RBIs and junior Nick Cooke, who was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Senior Jackson Sellers went 2-for-3, while sophomore Hunter Huneycutt was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Sophomore Luke Taylor also added two RBIs.

In addition to his relief pitching duties, sophomore Alex Hatcher had two hits, including an RBI and a double.

On the mound, senior Lane Roberson got the start, throwing the first three innings before making way for Byrd and Hatcher. Roberson gave up five earned runs off 11 hits and struck out three. Byrd and Hatcher then combined to give up one earned run off four hits, while striking out three in relief.