Midway and South Granville will need one more game to decide the champion of the East Region in the NCHSAA 2A Playoffs. After winning game one, the Raiders fell in Creedmoor against the hometown Vikings, 3-1 on Thursday evening.
Midway got a great pitching performance from Senior Ryan Lee. Lee walked no batters and allowed just 6 hits. His one mistake on the night, a fastball that came in back across the plate to Jordan Bullock, who hit a homer in the first inning with a runner on to give SGHS the 2-0 lead. Midway would get their run on a solo shot by Kyle Hawley in the top of the fourth inning. That and a Dylan Hardison single would be the only two hits for the Raiders on a night where they could not seem to make any sort of adjustment to pitching slower than what they are accustomed to seeing.
South would score another run in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out double down the left-field line for an extra bit of insurance.
Midway had a big chance to capitalize in the third inning with runners on first and second with no outs after Dylan Hardison’s single and Drake Strickland reached via a base on balls. Midway failed to get a bunt down, popping it up to the pitcher, who briskly flipped it back to second base for a double play.
Midway’s head coach Jason Fussell was pleased with his pitcher on the night, but frustrated with his offense. “We got one heck of a game from Ryan Lee. You can’t ask him to do anymore. Just one earned run, and that was the home—run. We have to do a better job at the plate, I mean, we have to be able to make adjustments. We couldn’t do it tonight, and they had a couple of pitchers have nice outings. We have to be better tomorrow.”
Game three, the rubber match, is Friday, May 29th at 7 p.m. at Midway High School.