Reagan slips by Eagles 2-1

The East Forsyth varsity baseball team got a terrific pitching performance from Christina Noyola on Tuesday but came up just short in a 2-1 loss to Reagan in the semifinals of the Piedmont Triad 7-A/8A Conference Tournament on Tuesday night at Northwest Guilford High School.

Reagan (21-2) was undefeated in conference play this season and is the No. 3 ranked team in the state, according to MaxPreps.

“Noyola pitched a complete game and it was the best game he has thrown all year,” Eagles Head Coach Drew Dull said. “He commanded three pitches, threw a bunch of strikes and attacked hitters. He did all the things we tell our pitchers to do. I felt it was one of the better efforts we have had all year. We only had two hits, but we hit a lot of balls really hard, but we hit a lot of them right at them. We put a lot of pressure on them to make plays. We did a lot of things right. We just came up on the short end. We had a couple of mental mistakes and that haunts you against real good teams.”

East Forsyth took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Craig McGhee got a base hit to right field and then stole second base. With two outs away and McGhee sprinting to third base, Dalton Davsko hit a ball up the middle, but the throw to first pulled the first baseman off the bag. McGhee never stopped and came in to score.

Reagan scored the tying and game-winning run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Raiders started with double and a single. East threw out a runner at first base on a fielder’s choice, but a Reagan run came in. A wild pitch advanced a runner to third base. A two-out infield single gave Reagan its second run of the game.

East had a chance to tie or go ahead in the top of the fifth inning, but good defense saved the day for the Raiders.

“In the bottom of the fifth we got three walks and loaded the bases. Chase Smith, who was exactly who we wanted, was at the plate. He hit an absolute missile, but their third baseman snagged it and threw out Carter Long,” Dull said.

Asa Coplin pitched five innings and got the win for the Raiders, and Eli Zagarski closed out the game and got the save.

East Forsyth (13-13) will advance to the Class 7A playoffs. Pairings will be announced Monday, but Dull is expecting a first round home game on Tuesday night because the seedings are based entirely on the Rating Percentage Index (RPI), a formula used to rank teams based on winning percentage, strength of schedule, and opponents’ strength of schedule.

“With the RPI we use, it is based on 40% of your record, 40% on your opponents’ record and 20% on your opponents’ winning percentage. In the 7A West we have played the toughest schedule out of anybody. Our opponents’ winning percentage is through the roof. I expect we will be seeded somewhere between 10th and 13th, and I think we’ll get a home first round game on Tuesday,” Dull said.

Tuesday

EFHS—0 0 1 0 0 0 0—1 2 1

RHS —0 0 0 2 0 0 0—2 6 1