Rams Advance to Round 2

The #2 seed Greene Central Rams (19-3) avenged last year’s playoff defeat at the hands of #31 seed St. Paul’s Bulldogs (8-13) with a solid performance in this year’s tournament. This is the Rams first playoff win since 2018, Greene Central is locked in!

Coach Ben Brann expressed his satisfaction with the team’s progress, saying, “It feels good, we have had a lot of hours and effort come into this, it’s good to see us get the results.”

In the first inning, Greene Central Rams’ offense started strong, scoring two runs when Wilkes Thomas singled. Braden Burress led the Rams to victory on the hill, notching his 10th win this season. Burress allowed two hits and one run over seven innings, striking out nine and walking zero.

“I came into this one knowing I owed them a little something from last year,” Burress said.

Senior leader Leland Barrow added, “What happened last year left a bitter taste in our mouth, I wanted to come back in today and shove it.”

TJ Parker was on the mound for St. Paul’s Bulldogs, going five innings, allowing four runs on nine hits, and striking out five. Cameron Revels threw one inning out of the bullpen.

Noah Uzzell, Cam Taylor, Will Radford, and Burress each had two hits for the Rams. The Rams now look forward to facing the winner of the matchup between #15 seed Southwest Onslow and #18 seed Whiteville in the next round of the state championship.