Wayne Country Day is one victory away from a state championship.
The Chargers scored four runs in the first inning and went on to defeat The Burlington School 12-0 in game one of the NCISAA 2A state championship series. Game two is set for Saturday at 12 p.m.
“I’m very happy for them all,” Wayne Country Day head coach Adam Pate said. “I thought we swung the bats very well, and that was the big thing/
“Offensively, our kids have been swinging. There were a lot of big performances from a lot of guys.”
After Everett Johnson hit a single and Rowan Watt drew a walk, Gavin Johnson hit an RBI single to score the game’s first run.
Later in the inning, Tanner Willman’s two-run double gave the Chargers a 4-0 lead.
“The beginning of the game kind of set the table on a lot of different areas to get us going,” Pate said.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Chargers hit back-to-back home runs.
Garrett Moffett hit a two-run home run to increase the Chargers’ lead to 6-0. Willman then stepped up to the plate, and he hit a home run to make it a 7-0 ballgame.
“Tanner’s home run was big because whenever you can go back-to-back, that’s just more and more momentum,” Pate said. “The home runs are set up by something beforehand, and that’s good at-bats by Everett and a couple of the other guys that made those home runs more of a dagger.”
The Burlington School was unable to respond and only had one hit in the game, and Watt’s two-run double in the bottom of the third pushed the Chargers’ lead to 9-0.
Two batters later, Moffett hit his second home run of the game. The Chargers scored their final run of the game when Everett Johnson hit an RBI single.
Braden Collins got the start of the mound, and he kept The Burlington off-balance for the entire game. Collins pitched all five innings, gave zero runs, one hit and struck out seven.
Moffett finished the game with four RBIs and two home runs, while Willman had three RBIs, a home run, and a double. Watt had two RBIs in the game. Everett Johnson and Gavin Johnson both had one RBI apiece.
“Braeden threw a lot of strikes, and he was in control for an entire ballgame,” Pate said. “He had both pitches working, and that’s what can happen.”
Heading into game two, Pates said he wants the Chargers not to miss a beat and keep the momentum on their side.
“Saturday games are fun, but they are out of the norm a little bit, so I want us to make sure we’re ready from the moment we get here,” Pate said. “And then just pick up where we left off offensively. That will be a big thing.”
