The Union Spartans’ season ended at the hands of 1A defending state champion and number one overall seed in the East, Whiteville, on Wednesday evening. The Spartans were dealt a tough hand in drawing the top seed in the East side of the bracket, and were no match for the crazily talented home team.

The Wolfpack defeated Union 14-0 in five innings.

Corey Smith pitched for the Spartans, and struggled against the high-powered offense. However, Smith and fellow Senior Tyler Mathis were huge for Union this season. The Spartans won a stretch of four games in a row late in the season, including a 7-6 win in 11 innings, in which Smith pitched its entirety.

Although Union loses Smith and Mathis, they will return some talented players next season, including middle-infielders Warren Gay and Dawson Thornton.

“These guys never let up all season, and I honestly could not be any more proud of these guys,” said Union’s head coach, Josh Rackley. “The way we kept fighting is what Union baseball and Union athletics in general is all about.”

Union finished the season at 5-13 overall and 5-9 in conference play.