Exciting second day of Conference Carolinas Baseball Championship
GASTONIA, N.C. – The top two seeds in the 2024 Conference Carolinas Baseball Championship were upset in their tournament debuts on Thursday while Mount Olive and UNC Pembroke earned one-run victories their debut games of the tournament.
The day started with eighth seed Erskine defeating top seed North Greenville 9-2. The Flying Fleet jumped on the Crusaders with five runs in the second inning, including on a home run from Jorge Pascual. North Greenville scored one run in the third, but Erskine answered, as they did all day, in the fourth on a Josean Sanchez run scoring single. The Flying Fleet then added two runs in the fifth before the Crusaders tallied a run in the bottom of the inning to pull within 8-2. An Erskine bunt single in the eighth gave the Flying Fleet the 9-2 victory.
Fourth seed UNC Pembroke got their tournament off to a hot start with three runs in the first inning against fifth seed Emmanuel. Kody O’Connor drove in a pair with a home run in the inning. Brody Campbell drove in a pair for Emmanuel in the third before the Lions evened the tally at three on a Ryan Muniz single in the fifth. Emmanuel took a 4-3 lead on a Van Gupton Jr. home run in the seventh, but O’Connor pulled the Braves back even with a single in the bottom of the inning. The score remained even at 4-4 until the bottom of the ninth when O’Connor scored on a wild pitch to give UNC Pembroke the 5-4 win.
Seventh seed Belmont Abbey jumped on second seed Young Harris with three runs in the first inning, two on a Todd Velotta double. Caleb Burr laced a home run in the fourth and Garrett Browder launched a three-run home run in the fifth to put the Crusaders ahead 7-0 lead. Browder tacked on another Crusader run in the sixth before a Carter DuHaime home run put Belmont Abbey ahead 9-0 in the seventh. Jake Enrico drove in two runs for Young Harris in the eight before Belmont Abbey capped the 10-2 win with a DuHaime run-scoring double in the ninth.
The nightcap was a pitcher’s duel between Tanner Halvorson of Barton and Erik Johnson of Mount Olive. The third-seeded Trojans grabbed a 2-0 lead over sixth seed Barton in the nightcap as Alden Cottle drove in two with a two-out single in the first inning. Chase Waddell cut the Barton deficit in half with a two-out double that scored Jared Beebe in the fourth inning. Mount Olive added a run in the eighth inning and were in prime position to add more with runners on second and third with no outs. However, Barton got out of the inning to stay within 3-1 going to the ninth. Matthew Rivera crushed a home run in the ninth, but that was all Johnson allowed as he got a strikeout to give Mount Olive the 3-2 win.
The action on Friday, May 3 starts at 11:00 a.m. as North Greenville faces Emmanuel in an elimination game. Young Harris then takes on Barton at 1:00 p.m. at Sims Legion Park in another elimination game. The first winners’ bracket contest features Erskine and UNC Pembroke at 3:00 p.m. before Belmont Abbey faces Mount Olive at 7:00 p.m.
To see the updated bracket for the championship and to learn more, please visit
here.