Roundup: 9-run 6th propels Scotland to victory over Hoke County

LAURINBURG — Through five innings Friday night, the Scotland Fighting Scots baseball team had yet to record a hit against the Hoke County Bucks.

The cold bats didn’t last through six, though, as the Scots had seven hits and scored all of their runs in the sixth to come from behind and win 9-3, spoiling Hoke County’s chance at its first Sandhills Athletic Conference win since May 21, 2021.

“I will say after (the 4-2 loss against Western Harnett) last night, I told them, guys, we have to get better at hitting,” Scotland coach Ricky Schattauer said. “And when I said be out here, I think in the cage by 4:40 today, everybody was here at 4:30, and they hit for about an hour and a half. So I think we put almost too much emphasis on hitting, and we went up there with trying to do too much with a little soft lefty that we just popped out or swung through.”

Scotland (3-1, 2-0 Sandhills Athletic Conference) ended left-handed pitcher Harvey Locklear’s no-hit bid for Hoke County (0-4, 0-2 SAC) when Garrett Manning’s bunt was placed perfectly in front of home plate, allowing Cameron Cole, who was walked to get on first, to advance to second.

“I was just hoping to get somebody on without two outs earlier in the game because lefties are normally not as athletic,” Schattauer said. “To make him come off and field a bunt; that was kind of my plan. And it paid off in the sixth. I was hoping it’d pay off more in the first.”

On the following at-bat, Scotland’s Maddox Locklear replicated Manning with a bunt of his own, which scored Cole from second to make the score 3-1; Logan Adner hit an ensuing RBI double to add another run, and Dawson Williams’ ground ball scored Locklear.

“That’s what I told them maybe there in the third or fourth, just it takes one hit to break it open,” Schattauer said.

After the first Scotland out of the frame, a Dylan Tilson walk and the second out, Thomas Taylor doubled on a line drive to right field to bring home Williams, Garrett Sellers and Tilson to put the Scots in front 6-3.

”Basically, it was just being on time all night,” Taylor said. “I wasn’t on time the other at-bats, and then the third time around was on time. That’s all it really was.”

Harvey Locklear was subsequently relieved by freshman James Tatum on the bump for the Bucks. But as the order rounded through with Cole back at the plate, Cole was hit by Tatum’s seventh pitch; Manning’s three-RBI hit two pitches later was an inside-the-park home run to tack on the final runs after Manning collided with Hoke County first baseman Dawson Spivey, who was helped off the field by two Bucks, and the ball was abandoned for a short period.

Hoke County went three up and three down in the seventh to end the game.

“It definitely says a lot to be able to bounce back,” Taylor said. “It feels good.”

Manning finished with two hits with three RBIs for Scotland; Maddox Locklear had two hits with an RBI and Taylor finished with a hit and three RBIs. Tilson earned the win for Scotland, pitching all seven innings and allowing one earned run on six hits with 11 strikeouts to just one walk.

“Dylan put all the pressure on himself, took his experience from last year, and even though, down, continued to battle,” Schattauer said. “And that’s what we’re going to need from him in the long run.”

Spivey had two hits with an RBI, and Connor Oldham, Reynell Capellan Reyes, Chase Carter and Caleb Slocumb had one hit each for Hoke County; Harvey Locklear pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and five walks to take the loss.

Hoke County’s first two runs came in the second when Spivey’s line-drive single scored Carter from first, and Spivey ran in on a passed ball; the 3-0 lead came in the third after Oldham scored from second on an error by Williams.

Scotland’s nonconference game scheduled for Saturday against Purnell Swett was canceled on Friday night, so the Scots’ next opportunity to take the field will be against Southern Lee next week; the teams will face off in Sanford on Tuesday before doing so in Laurinburg on Friday.

Scotland softball routs Southern Lee

The Scotland softball team needed only three innings to defeat the Southern Lee Cavaliers Friday night, winning 19-0 in Sanford and remaining undefeated in the young season.

Scotland (3-0, 2-0 Sandhills Athletic Conference) led 12-0 after the first inning and scored four additional runs in the second before adding three more in the third.

Dawson Blue scored three runs on three hits, including two home runs, with six RBIs for the Lady Scots; Addison Johnson and Lindsay Locklear each scored three runs on two hits with three RBIs; Kinsey Hamilton scored three runs on one hit with an RBI; Marissa Smith scored two runs on one hit with an RBI; Addison Lewis scored one run on two hits with two RBIs; Nateya Scott scored one run on one hit with two RBIs and Ramsey Hale scored one run. Avery Stutts pitched a perfect three innings with seven strikeouts to earn the win for Scotland.

Maliyah Wilson was the losing pitcher for Southern Lee (2-3, 0-2 SAC).

Scotland will have its first home game on Tuesday against Union Pines after previously scheduled home contests against Western Harnett on March 1 and South View this past Thursday were canceled.