Here's how Luke Rayfield, Crest baseball powered past East Lincoln

TL;DR

Crest baseball defeated East Lincoln 14-9 in a high-scoring NCHSAA 5A West third-round matchup, featuring eight home runs. They will face second-ranked South Point in the regional final on May 15.

Key points

Crest baseball defeated East Lincoln 14-9
The game featured eight home runs
Crest baseball is the 3-seed in the NCHSAA 5A West playoffs
Crest will face South Point in the regional final
The matchup took place on May 12

Crest baseballEast LincolnNCHSAA 5A WestSouth Point

BOILING SPRINGS — Surveying the ballpark ahead of his team’s NCHSAA 5A West third-round matchup with East Lincoln, there wasn’t any reason for Crest baseball coach Adam McFarland to expect a slugfest Tuesday, May 12.

“I mean, the ball carries (at the Crest High baseball stadium) all the time, but the wind wasn’t blowing straight out or anything like that,” he said. “But one thing is for sure, the baseball was flying out of here (Tuesday).”

In a game which featured eight home runs, 5A West 3-seed Crest outlasted No. 6 East Lincoln 14-9, earning it a spot opposite second-ranked South Point in a regional final matchup May 15.

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“I felt like we put some good swings on some balls,” McFarland said. “This was definitely a crazy launching pad type of night for us.”

The Chargers hit five home runs in the game, a bulk of them coming during a six-run fifth inning. On the heels of a six-run spurt which gave East Lincoln a 6-5 advantage, back-to-back home runs by Luke Rayfield and Landry Ohmstead put Crest back in front. After an Eli Black flyout which fell just short of leaving the ballpark, Caleb Costner and J.M. Knapp hit back-to-back home runs of their own to give the Chargers a 9-6 advantage.

“Obviously, we expected (East Lincoln) to respond, they are a good team,” McFarland said. “But we didn’t necessarily expect us to put up a 5-spot, then they respond with an answer of their own. I’m just glad our guys did a good job responding.”

Crest added two more runs in the inning, opening a five-run lead. East Lincoln cut the Charger lead to 11-9 in the sixth after a Tanner Matile home run, a Connor Presley sacrifice fly, as well as a Ryker Wensil RBI base hit.