North Lenoir Claims Conference Co-Championship with Rivalry Win

In a high-stakes rivalry game with playoff implications, the North Lenoir Hawks defeated the South Lenoir Blue Devils 8-6 on South Lenoir's Senior Night. With this victory, North Lenoir became conference co-champions and secured a crucial home playoff game.

Entering the game, South Lenoir held a 12-6 overall record and an 8-3 conference record, while North Lenoir stood at 14-4 overall and 8-3 in conference play. The Blue Devils were riding a four-game winning streak, but the Hawks had an 11-game winning streak against their rivals. The last time South Lenoir won in this rivalry was on May 6th, 2016.

The game was a back-and-forth battle, with the score tied 4-4 for most of the match. North Lenoir's Braden Alphin had a great night at the plate going 3-4 and Matthew Hill provided a few great hits, including a shot giving the Hawks a small lead of 7-5. Senior leader Luke Cannon then hit his second home run of the year, extending the lead to 8-5. Cannon said, "It felt great, two quick early outs in the inning, and I felt the momentum swinging a little bit. I felt like I needed to make something happen, and it did."

The Hawks held on to win 8-6, becoming conference co-champions. Hawks coach Jackson Massey commented on the team's journey, "The road we took to get where we are at had a lot of detours and bumps. We have battled so much, but we have stuck together and trusted what we have been trying to teach them. Each night, someone stepped up to get it done. In the past, we had one or two guys that stepped up, but this team has 8-9 guys that have made plays."

Reflecting on the Blue Devils' turnaround, coach David Combs said, "My seniors are the definition of guys that turned this around; they did it. After the East Duplin loss earlier in the year, we sat down and talked to my seniors; they set goals and did everything they could to reach them.

“The progression we have had has been unreal, at practice, in the locker room, in class; it's equating everywhere. I am just proud of those kids."

Playoffs start next week and the brackets will be released this weekend or Monday at the latest.