The Roanoke Rapids High School Yellow Jackets Varsity Baseball team went on the road and defeated Bunn in the 1st round of the NCHSAA 2A State Championship Playoffs by a score of 13-6.
Jake Van Dam started the game and pitched six innings to pick up the win striking out eight batters on the night. Carson Neal came in to pitch the 7th inning to close out the game. Neal struck out 2 batters in the inning.
The offensive highlights for the Yellow Jackets were a 2 run homerun by Aaron Jackson in the 1st inning and a 3 run homerun by Cameron Salmon in the 3rd inning. Other batters collecting hits for RRHS were Colin Long, Carson Neal, Peyton Jackson, Bennett Liverman, and Trevor Harrison.
Coach Mark Snead stated, "This was a complete team effort from our guys tonight. We had great pitching from Jake and Carson. We also played overall solid defense behind them. And finally our offense really came through. We hit the ball well and collected several 2 strike hits and 2 out hits. Putting all three phases together in the playoffs is huge. After losing twice to Bunn last week, I am proud of how our guys came out from the first inning ready to play. Our energy was great and it showed. I am proud of our whole team tonight."
The Yellow Jackets now move on to the 2nd round of the State Playoffs to face the winner of Wednesday night's game between Midway and Bertie. The date and time are TBD.