Behind a strong starting performance from starting pitcher John Bakke, the Piedmont Kingsmen Baseball team advanced to the SCBL semi-finals after defeating the Statesville Owls on Monday night at York Comprehensive High School, 4-1.
The Pride will be back in action tomorrow night in the SCBL semi-finals against the #2 seed, the Mooresville Spinners. Game time will be 7 pm at York Comprehensive High School. The winner of the game will advance to the championship round in the playoffs.
Bakke got his seventh start of the season for the Red and Blue, throwing 6.1 innings, striking out nine, and allowing just one earned run on four hits.
Jason White picked up the save after collecting 2.1 innings of no run baseball and nailing the lid on the coffin in the 7th inning, as the Owls had bases loaded with two outs. White would trot in from his center field position and get a pop-up to end the threat.
The game would remain scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Ben Wetenhall put the Pride on the board with his 19th RBI of the summer.
Statesville responded in the top half of the sixth inning, plating a run to make it 1-1.
Bam Thomas gave the Red and Blue the lead back after an RBI ground out in the home half of the sixth inning, 2-1.
The Pride would add on two more runs in the bottom half of the eighth, completing the season sweep over the owls, 4-1.
