Spartans trip up Tabor

All the usual weapons were on display Tuesday night for the South Caldwell baseball squad. Dominant pitching came in the form of Cody Penny's complete-game shutout. Prodigious power came in the form of Cody Prestwood's three-run homer in the sixth. And flawless fielding came in the form of Dominic DiBernardi's impressive sliding catch in the fifth. But it was a more subtle weapon that ultimately carried the day for the Spartans in the second round of the North Carolina 4-A playoffs: patience.

South Caldwell drew seven walks and three hit-by-pitches en route to a 9-0 second-round victory over Mount Tabor in Sawmills.

“You could tell (Mt. Tabor pitcher Parker Thomas) was struggling out there. He couldn't find it,” South Caldwell coach Jeff Parham said. “That's when you've got be a little bit more patient. You've got to be a little bit more selective. Stilll aggressive, but more selective. And I thought we did that.”

The first two Spartan runs were a direct result of that patience. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning, Dominic DiBernardi and Lucas Jackson picked up consecutive runs batted in on a hit-by-pitch and a walk, respectively. Brad Chavis followed with a two-RBI single through the hole on the left side of the infield to give South Caldwell an early 4-0 lead.

“You've got to be smart at the plate,” Spartan right fielder Zac Greer said. “You can't try to do too much when you don't get the pitches you want.”

Penny did the rest. The Spartan starter struck out eight and allowed only three hits in his seven innings of work. He pitched particularly well in tough spots, stranding nine Mt. Tabor baserunners. He tossed 106 pitches on the night, and improved to 8-0 on the season.

“I just went out there ready to throw,” Penny said. “When I get runners on, I just try to let them hit the ball to my fielders. With the defense that I've got, I feel like that balls are going to get caught.”

Penny escaped his biggest jam of the evening in the top of the fifth inning. With South Caldwell up 6-0, Mt. Tabor had the bases loaded with Mat Batts at the plate. Batts roped a line drive to center field, and Spartan center fielder DiBernardi chased in pursuit. When DiBernardi came up with an impressive sliding catch to his left, it prevented at least three runs from scoring, and stymied a potential Mt. Tabor rally.

“I knew the ball was deep, so I just took off running,” DiBernardi said. “It's just luck, I guess. I had a good read on it.”

Prestwood added the insurance in the bottom half of the sixth. After Lucas Jackson singled and Brad Chavis walked to open the inning, Prestwood smashed a three-run bomb over the left field fence. It was his third home run of the season.

Mt. Tabor finished its season with a record of 13-12.

“Any time you give a team 10 free pases, whether its by a walk or a hit-by-pitch, it's going to be a lot of trouble for you,” Mt. Tabor coach Mike Lovelace said. “It just came down to us not putting the ball in play when we needed to.”

The Spartans (23-1) have now won 17 straight contests. They will host Weddington Friday.

Weddington (21-7) defeated South Meck Tuesday.