North Raleigh Christian Academy – 8                    Charlotte Christian – 15

North Raleigh Christian travelled to Charlotte on Tuesday to take on the No. 1 seed and the perennial favorite in the NCISAA 4A.  The Knights from Raleigh came in with confidence and a good plan that they executed early in the game.  

The top of the 1^st saw NRCA get their top 4 hitters in the order on base with two singles and two walks.  Charlotte Christian made a quick move to their bullpen as starter Everette Harris was struggling to find the plate consistently enough for the home plate umpire. In total the NRCA would score 3 in their first at-bat. 

NRCA starter Chase Arrington (RHP, 2023) attacked the zone early with his fastball and showed command for a big, rolling breaking ball, working a fairly efficient 1^st inning with the lead.

NRCA would plate 1 more in their half of the second, keyed by an infield error.  In the bottom half, the game would get completely side tracked, as Charlotte Christians offense did a very good job of being patient.  A leadoff walk was followed by a double from Hayden Brandon (INF, 2021).  A SAC Bunt from Wesley Jones was mishandled, loading the bases.  A ground out and pop up, gave NRCA two outs in the half with a lead of 4-2.

The next 5 hitters would walk.  While the home plate umpire was hearing from Charlotte Christian fans for the first full inning plus, he was now hearing it from North Raleigh.  The breaking ball from Arrington was consistently thrown to the same spot and the umpire did not waiver on how he called the pitch.  As the inning carried on, the frustration from NRCA players, coaches, and parents grew.  A pitching change did not cure the NRCA issues as Cole Harding (RHP, 2021) walked the first hitter he faced before Brandon singled, making the score 7-4 CCS.  After another walk, there was a confrontation between the umpire and the NRCA catcher as the umpire’s frustration with the NRCA dugout began to grow.  The next walk made the score 8-4 CCS.

Back to the top of the order with the bases loaded and an 0-1 count, JD Suarez (INF, 2021) made a loud assertive “time” call, just prior to the NRCA pitcher lifting his leg.  As the pitcher began his delivery and heard the “time” call, Harding stopped his delivery.  The home plate umpire called a balk, scoring a 9^th run for CCS in the inning.  A short conversation with the NRCA coach and home plate umpire ended in an ejection.  As the home plate umpire removed himself from the NRCA side of the field, he began a conversation with NRCA players on the mound, from the 1^st base line.  When a player for NRCA asked him not to talk to them, the home plate umpire ejected the player.

As an aside, the balk call was incorrect.  National High School Federation rules follow a rule that states a hitter cannot cause a balk.  It is written as below,

“If after the pitcher starts his windup or comes to a “set position” with runners on, he does not go through with his pitch because the batter has inadvertently caused the pitcher to interrupt his delivery, it shall not be called a balk. Both the pitcher and batter have violated a rule and the umpire shall call time and both the batter and pitcher start over from “scratch.”

Following the balk call, Suarez hit a fly ball to the wall in left.  The ball flight was lost by the outfielder and Suarez was hustling out of the box, beating a throw to the plate, scoring three runs, and giving Charlotte Christian a 12-3 lead after two innings.

North Raleigh would quickly answer, scoring three in the 3^rd, but the 12 run inning was just to big to overcome.  Charlotte Christian relievers worked the final 6.2 innings, giving up 5 runs, only 3 of which were earned.

Charlotte Christian advances to the State Championship Series, which they will host beginning on Friday May 14^th.  They will face off with Wesleyan Christian Academy.

 

Charlotte Christian Notes:
+ Everette Harris – 0.1IP, 2H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 1K
+ Wesley Jones – Win, 2.2IP, 4H, 4R, 2ER, 0BB, 3K
+ Alex Rosen – 2IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 4K
+ Justin Joseph – 2IP, 1H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 2K
+ JD Suarez – 1-4, HR, 2R, 2RBI
+ Calvert Clark – 2-2, 3B, 3R
+ Will Farrell – 2-3, 3B, 1R, 3RBI
+ Hayden Brandon – 3-4, 2B, 2R, 3RBI
+ Jakeman Pendleton – 1-3, 1R, 2RBI

North Raleigh Christian Notes:
+ Chase Arrington – Loss, 1.2IP, 1H, 7R, 7ER, 6BB, 0K
+ Cole Harding – 0.0IP, 2H, 5R, 5ER, 3BB, 0K
+ Jim Matson – 1.2IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 2K
+ Cooper Doyle – 2.2IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 2K
+ Andrew Austin – 1-3, 1R
+ Jackson Maye – 1-4, 1R, 2RBI
+ Cooper Doyle – 1-3, 1R, 1RBI
+ Karson Knox – 1-3, 1R, 1RBI
+ Cameron Brown – 1-3, 2B, 2RBI

Editor’s Note:
We spent a lot of time working through some of the issues in the 2^nd inning.  We would like to say the home plate umpire was very consistent throughout the evening with his strike zone.  The zone was tight, but it was tight both ways, and in an elimination game with a lot of intensity, he was hearing from both dugouts and fan bases.  We do not think he reacted correctly when he engaged with the catcher from NRCA, called the balk on NRCA, and when he ejected the player from NRCA.  There are a lot of times where emotion can cloud judgement, as players, coaches, and umpires.  There was definitely a lot of emotion on the field with two good teams competing for a state championship opportunity.

 

Scout Blog

 

Everette Harris, RHP, Charlotte Christian, 2022
NC State commit.  Lanky and lean build with plenty of room to add strength.  Leg kick works the foot outside the knee, swinging his body over the rubber and changing the line at times.  Works to stay level and on-line.  Medium arm action to a high-3/4 slot.  Rotational through the finish with average arm speed, falling toward 1B on his finish. 

Subscribers can see the full Scout Blog with velocities and player notes by CLICKING HERE.