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Wins over Murphy, Rosman put Bobcats in quarterfinals
After two straight home victories over Murphy and Rosman in the state 1-A baseball playoffs, Blue Ridge (20-5) finds itself one win away from reaching the state semifinals.
The Bobcats were scheduled to play at Hayesville at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the quarterfinals. Results were not known at the Herald sports deadline.
Blue Ridge baseball players raise three fingers indicating they are on their way to the third round of the state playoffs after Friday’s 2-1 victory over Rosman in eight innings.
By far the smallest of the 32 high schools which qualified for the playoffs, the Bobcats are now one of eight teams competing for the state championship.
The Yellow Jackets (17-3) and Blue Ridge split two meetings in the regular season. Hayesville won 6-4, and the Bobcats took an 8-5 victory.
“After such an emotional hard fought victory against Rosman and knowing we can beat (Hayesville) on their own field, we’ve got some good things going for us,” Coach Jim Nichols said. “The boys are staying with a one-game-at-a-time approach and their focus is pretty intense, and that’s all good.”
The Hayesville-Blue Ridge winner will meet Chatham Central or South Stanly in the best-two-of-three semifinal series. The Western North Carolina representative will be host for the first and third (if necessary) games with the second game on the road. Tentative days are today (Thursday), Friday and Saturday.
The Bobcats’ banner week began with an 8-4 win over Murphy on May 15. They fell behind 2-0 but had a solid afternoon with the bats against Bulldog ace Aaron Hughes.
Cody Goodwin scattered five hits while striking out nine in a complete-game effort for Blue Ridge.
The Bobcats went up 4-2 in the third. After an error, Dylan Brooks, Nick Miles, Goodwin and Brandon Magruder all had four straight singles with two out.
An RBI single by Brooks in the fifth upped the margin to 5-2.
Blue Ridge put the game away with three runs in the sixth. Goodwin tripled, Magruder walked and Williams had an RBI single. The other runs scored on a passed ball and a steal of home by Nick Miles.
The Bobcats played steady defense throughout the game making several fine plays. Web gems by second baseman Michael Bradley and shortstop Eric Farmer saved what could have been two Bulldog uprisings.
Goodwin allowed two runs in the seventh before striking out Hughes to end the game for the Bobcats’ first-ever playoff victory.
“I’m elated that we’ve gotten over that hump of first round loses,” Nichols said.
Friday’s second-round game featured a cat fight between the Bobcats and Rosman Tigers. The teams scratched and clawed for eight innings behind stellar performances by both starting pitchers, Alex McMahan of Rosman and Goodwin. When the dust settled, Blue Ridge emerged with a 2-1 win.
With fans hanging on every pitch and crack of the bat, the ending of the game exemplified its intensity.
“This was the best game that I’ve ever been involved with by far,” Nichols said. “I’m just fortunate to be part of it.”
With the score 1-1 in the eighth, Brooks singled with two out. Miles lined a rope to the left-centerfield fence, and Brooks beat the relay throw to score the winning run.
“Our kids played their hearts out,” Rosman Coach Kirk Dotson said. “Sometimes it just isn’t enough. We had a play set up to nail the runner at home. The throw from the outfield was accurate to the relay man, but his throw was off by a few inches. Sometimes that’s all it takes in baseball.”
Bradley’s home run, his fifth of the season, gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead in the first.
The Tigers tied it in the sixth when Josh Riddle singled, went to third on Shane Galloway’s double and scored on Blythe McCall’s suicide squeeze.
Goodwin (9-2) yielded four hits and a walk and struck out 13.
“He’s a warrior with the heart of a champion,” Nichols said. “You can see it in his eyes, He’s determined to succeed.”
McMahan (5-1) lost for the first time this year. He had a WNC best 1.08 ERA going into the game. He allowed seven hits and struck out seven.
A crowd estimated at 300 saw the game.
“You could hear the roar of the Bobcat crowd all the way to the crossroads in Cashiers while the silence on the Rosman side was just deafening,” Nichols said “While one side was in total celebration mode, the other sat in utter disbelief.”
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