South Lenoir Breaks Through: Blue Devils Win ECC Title in 10-Inning Classic
LA GRANGE —After years of falling short to their rival, South Lenoir stormed into The Swamp and walked out as conference champions.
Backed by a near-flawless performance from senior Matthew Rhodes and a breakthrough 10th-inning rally, the South Lenoir Blue Devils captured the East Central 2A Conference championship with a gritty 3-1 win over North Lenoir, earning their second win in the last three meetings after dropping 23 straight in the series.
"This is something we’re going to remember forever,” said junior Braden Barnett, who played the hero out of the bullpen and at the plate. “We finally got the conference championship. I don’t know the last time we won one, and we came into The Swamp and got it done.”
A Masterclass from Rhodes
Rhodes, a senior known to his teammates as “Tadpole,” delivered what might go down as one of the best outings in program history. He threw 8.2 innings of scoreless baseball, striking out eight, walking just one, and allowing only two hits on 107 pitches.
“I got a little bit tired,” Rhodes admitted. “But the adrenaline — with the fans, the atmosphere — it just kept me going. I would’ve loved to finish it, but I’m not worried giving it to Braden after me. I mean, I don’t think he’s given up a run the whole year.”
Rhodes finishes the regular season with a 6–2 record, a 1.76 ERA, 72 strikeouts across 63.2 innings pitched, just five extra-base hits allowed, and only 16 walks across 199 batters faced — a statistical resume worthy of any ace.
Barnett Steps Up
As if the stage wasn’t big enough, Barnett entered the game in the bottom of the ninth with a runner on base — and the first batter he faced was Garrett Byrd, North Lenoir’s senior slugger with six home runs to his name.
“Definitely butterflies, at least a little bit,” Barnett said. “But I knew my stuff works. I just tried to get him off balance, and luckily, it worked.”
Barnett escaped the jam and returned in the bottom of the 10th after helping spark the winning rally moments earlier.
With runners on first and second and nobody out in the top half, Barnett laid down a bunt — a crucial play that turned chaotic for North Lenoir. The throw to third sailed high over the baseman’s head, and with the runner already on the bag, South Lenoir took a 1–0 lead.
“When you get first and second, no outs in extra innings, you gotta get one down,” Barnett said. “Get the runners moving — that’s the job.”
Moments later, senior Jake Howard — who went 2-for-5 on the night — delivered a two-RBI single into right field to stretch the lead to 3–1.
“They Knew What Was Coming”
Head coach Paul Novicki never had to say much in the 10th. His team had been preparing for this moment since winter.
“As soon as Luke [Potter] got that big hit, I didn’t even have to give a sign,” Novicki said. “They knew what was coming. And it worked.”
Potter, a senior, sparked the rally with a leadoff single in the 10th after falling behind 0–2 in the count.
“I was thinking about being aggressive,” Potter said. “I knew what the slider looked like and the fastball too. He got me 0–2, and I told myself to be a batter. He threw me a slider up and in, and I just poked at it.”
When asked what Novicki told him before the at-bat, Potter didn’t hesitate: “He just told me to do what I’ve been doing — just go up there and hit.”
Numbers and Legacy
Barnett’s 1.1 scoreless innings earned him the win — his second of the season — and preserved his flawless ERA. He finishes the regular season 2–0, with a 0.00 ERA, 14 strikeouts across 16 innings, no walks, no earned runs, and only 62 batters faced.
The Blue Devils (11–1 EC2A, 17–3 overall) now head into the NCHSAA 2A state playoffs ranked No. 7 in the East RPI standings. North Lenoir (9–3 EC2A, 14–8) sits at No. 18 and will enter the postseason as a dangerous third-place team. South Lenoir’s win marks a power shift not just in the standings but in the rivalry — now 2–1 in their last three games against the Hawks.
They also did it with discipline: four stolen bases (two by senior Christian Coples), no errors in the field, and unwavering belief in one another.
“This team — they’ve been working,” Barnett said. “During football, during basketball, all winter. Everybody's been working year in and year out to get better. And now we’ve got the title to show for it.”
From Rhodes’ near-complete game to Barnett’s calm in the fire, from Potter’s leadoff swing to Howard’s dagger of a hit — it was a team win. But for South Lenoir baseball, it was much more.
It was long overdue.
