Rosewood Hands North Lenoir Costly 11-2 Loss in DBC Easter Classic Opener
KINSTON, N.C. — With playoff seeding on the line and momentum slipping, North Lenoir needed a bounce-back performance on Saturday. Instead, the Hawks fell deeper into a troubling stretch, dropping an 11-2 decision to Rosewood in the opening round of the DBC Easter Classic at Historic Grainger Stadium.
The Hawks (12-6) didn’t collect a hit until the fourth inning and didn’t string together enough offense to mount a comeback. They finished with eight hits, but nearly all came after the game was already out of reach.
Senior Garrett Byrd delivered North Lenoir’s first punch—a towering solo home run in the fourth inning, his fifth of the season. Byrd continues to shine with a stat line that now reads: .444 batting average, five home runs, 21 RBIs, 21 runs, 10 walks, and two doubles. Ethan Smith followed in the fifth with an RBI double, and freshman Bryce Arnette added a pair of singles, but the offense failed to capitalize in run-producing situations.
Rosewood, a 1A program, played mistake-free baseball and took full advantage of North Lenoir’s command issues. The Eagles scored nine runs across the third, fourth, and fifth innings, drawing seven walks and racking up 11 hits. Sophomore pitcher Braxson Waters threw a complete game, striking out seven and allowing just two earned runswithout issuing a single walk.
North Lenoir’s pitching staff struggled:
Whit Johnson (L): 1.2 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
Peyton Wiggins: 2.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
James Peay: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Combined, the Hawks allowed 11 earned runs on 11 hits and walked seven batters in 5.2 innings. Their defense didn’t provide much help either, including a misplayed bunt that resulted in a double—one of several moments where the team appeared out of sync.
“We just didn’t have it today,” said North Lenoir head coach Cam Sherrer. “On the mound we had struggles, defensively we had struggles, and we didn’t come out and swing it. And they are good—that’s a good Rosewood team.”
This marks North Lenoir’s third loss in four games, and perhaps more importantly, a missed opportunity to improve their RPI. With two key losses to East Duplin earlier in the week knocking them out of first place in the conference standings, the Hawks can only hold a share for first place .
The RPI will be the deciding factor in whether the Hawks host a first-round playoff game or hit the road if the Hawks finish second in the ECC.
That makes every game from this point forward critical.
North Lenoir still has two more contests in the DBC Easter Classic—Monday against North Duplin and Tuesday against Southern Wayne—before closing the regular season with a must-win clash against current league leader South Lenoir on May 1.
