Cedar Ridge stays hot, eliminates Nash Central baseball

Sophomore phenom Phil Berger mystified frustrated Nash Central batters on a stellar two-hitter, fanning five while facing only four batters over the minimum to lead Cedar Ridge to a 4-1 win Wednesday night.

Berger (8-2) was so dominant with his fastball placement not a single Bulldog got past first base until left fielder Colby Carter walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch in the seventh inning. Relief pitcher Cameron Taylor broke up Berger’s shutout when he smashed a one-out RBI double to center, pushing Carter across the plate for Nash Central’s only score.

“It’s not really a big deal to me,” Berger said of losing the shutout in the final inning of the opening round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A state tournament.

“We still won, so that’s all that matters,” Berger said. “It’s great for the school, it’s great for the program. I’m just excited to be able to play another game this season.”

The East No. 15 seed Red Wolves will play the winner of No. 5 seed West Carteret and No. 31 Eastern Alamance on Saturday.

Cedar Ridge coach Jamie Athas had an easy decision putting Berger on the mound entering the playoffs against No. 20 seed Nash Central.

“We knew what we were going to get out of him. He’s a kid that doesn’t get rattled, and to have that especially as a sophomore is rare,” Athas said. “He’s being giving us everything we need.”

Berger was quick to share the credit for the win.

“Everybody hit the ball tonight,” he said. “It makes it a lot easier not having to pitch in a real tight ballgame.”

Cedar Ridge had 10 hits in all, five of them coming in a four-run third inning in which the Red Wolves sent 10 batters to the plate.

“They’ve been doing really well as of late,” Athas said. “Their approach has been good. They’ve been squaring some balls up.”

Center fielder Brandon Andrews was 3-4 with one RBI. He laced a pair of doubles and had a single, batting at a spot in the order he never wanted, but has grown to love.

“It’s different because I’ve normally never been a leadoff hitter,” Andrews said. He was moved up from the middle of the order early in the season.

“I just look for the first pitch I can hit rather than other first batters where they try to work the count a little bit,” Andews said.

“I just went up there thinking right center, and I just hit the ball up the middle,” Andrews said.

Cedar Ridge third baseman Matthew Kahn led off the third inning with a single, and moved to second when second baseman Jake DeFranco walked. Andrews slammed a double in the gap to center to score Kahn. Shortstop Dante DeFranco singled to score his brother off second, and Andrews went to third on the play. Dante DeFranco got thrown out trying to take second.

Designated hitter Adam Chnupa was hit by a pitch and stole second base. First baseman Chris Cox ripped a 2 RBI single to center, and the Red Wolves loaded the bases with singles by right fielder Simon Little and left fielder Sailor Ramos, but stranded all three runners.

Nash Central coach Willie Langley said Berger kept his batters off balance, and they never were able to get into their typical rhythm of small ball and bunting runners over.

“He’s really good. He’s done that to a lot of teams this year,” Langley said.

But he said the play that set the tone was in the first inning when his leadoff batter Payton Bass rifled a shot that Dante DeFranco somehow came up with and fired to first for the putout.

“Out of 26 games we played this season, 25 of them that’s through,” Langley said. “It’ a vicious game.”

“We had one bad inning. If that one bad inning wasn’t there we’d still be playing,” said Taylor, who came on in relief of fellow senior Zach Patterson in the fourth inning. “It’s a hard way to go out. We fought hard to get here.”

Taylor said he is going to work on his arm strength in American Legion ball this summer as he prepares to pitch for North Carolina Wesleyan next year.

This story was originally published May 11, 2017 at 1:16 AM with the headline "Cedar Ridge stays hot, eliminates Nash Central baseball."