Blue Devils Advance to Round 2

The South Lenoir Devils secured a decisive victory over the #11 seed Franklin Academy, winning 13-2 in their first-round playoff match on Tuesday.

South Lenoir's offense got off to a strong start in the first inning when Eli Day singled on a 0-1 count, driving in one run. The Devils didn't let up and put up six runs in the sixth inning, with Jake Howard, Matthew Rhodes, Bradley Barnett, Carson Stroud, and Lucas West each contributing RBIs.

On the mound, senior Landon Tyndall led the Devils for four innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out four. Despite not feeling his best, Tyndall still managed to throw strikes and contribute to the team's win. He reflected on his performance, saying, "I feel like we could’ve played better, including myself, but still managed to run-rule the team we played. On the mound, I didn’t have my best stuff but still managed to throw strikes on what I consider being a bad performance by me."

The Devils' offense was impressive, collecting 13 hits throughout the game. Rhodes, Howard, Barnett, West, and Braxton Byrd each had multiple hits for South Lenoir, with Rhodes leading the team with three hits in three at-bats.

As a senior, Tyndall recognizes the urgency of the playoff season, noting, "Being it’s my senior season, yes, I do think it’s do or die at this point in the season. Everyone’s back is against the wall because every game, no matter what, one of the teams from each and every game's season is getting put to an end."

South Lenoir, having won 7 of their last 9 games, will face the winner of the match between the #6 seed North Johnston and #27 seed Bartlett Academy. Tyndall believes the team's success will continue if they stick to their game plan: "With that being said, we just need to continue to play our game of baseball and do the little things right, and we’ll continue to play good ball games if we do so."