LAURINBURG — Scotland baseball coach Chad Hill breathed a sigh of relief after his team defeated Lumberton on a walk-off RBI groundout by catcher Zac Phillips in the bottom of the seventh inning on Wednesday night.
“I told them ugly wins are a lot better than a pretty loss,” Hill said. “I think it was good for our team to show their resiliency and battle.”
Scotland led Lumberton 7-4 heading into the seventh inning after scoring six runs in the fifth. Lumberton loaded the bases with one out. Camden Locklear hit into a fielder’s choice, which allowed the Scots to tag Austin Gist out at second base, but a throw to first base by second baseman Nick Callahan sailed into foul territory as he tried to execute a double play. That mistake helped the Pirates score two runs.
Seth Odum then hit an RBI single to tie the score at 7-all.
In the bottom of the same inning, Scotland’s Connor Seales notched a leadoff single. He then advanced to second on a wild pitch by Lumberton’s Bryce Stueck. A sacrifice bunt by Parker Byrd moved Seals to third base with one out. That set the stage for Phillips’ game-winning groundout.
Scotland’s six-run fifth inning started with an RBI double by Tyler Faulk that trimmed Lumberton’s lead to 4-2. With two outs in the inning, Scotland scored another run from third base on a groundout by Callahan.
Seales then notched an RBI on an infield single, tying the game at 4-all. Later in the inning, two more Scots came home to score when Phillips reached first base on an error. Another error by the Pirates, this time in left field, helped Phillips score on a fly ball by Tyler Barfield.
Scotland (7-7, 6-5 SAC) ended its two-game skid. Lumberton (3-11, 3-8) lost its sixth straight game. The Pirates had five errors.
Stewart Evans had four hits, and RBI and a run scored for the Scots. Seales and Austin Norton both scored two runs. Barfield picked up the win for Scotland after pitching the final out of the top of the seventh inning.
Stueck picked up the loss after giving up four earned runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Lumberton’s Cash Hunt finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a walk. Odum was 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks.
Scotland plays at Lumberton at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
“It’s a short turnaround,” Hill said. “We’ll sleep fast, go to school, drive down there and see if we can do it again tomorrow.”
Other results from Wednesday night:
On the softball field, Lumberton defeated Scotland 1-0 in extra innings. Rachel O’Neil drove in the winning run with a single in the top of the eighth inning.
In girls soccer action, Pinecrest defeated Scotland 9-0.
