HOLLYWOOD CROSSROADS, N.C. – Nothing in the state can cool down D.H. Conley’s bats.

Over the No. 3 ranked Vikings’ last dozen games, they have outscored opponents 122-23. That includes wins over J.H. Rose (twice), Perquimans, South Central, and now Terry Sanford.

Those five teams are a combined 61-10 when not playing against Conley this season.

In Saturday’s Pitt County Classic matinee, Nolan Winfield and Ethan Stewart left the yard to hand No. 15 ranked Terry Sanford a 14-2 defeat.

Against ECU recruit Josh Hart, Winfield got the Vikings going in the bottom of the first when he pulled a home run into the wind, which was howling from left to right.

Ryker Butcher added to the lead in the second with a run-scoring double off the base of the wall in left.

The floodgates opened in the third when Coleton Newbern ripped a two-run double down the line, and Ethan Medhus followed with an RBI single up the middle.
Newbern closed out a four-run third when he crossed on a wild pitch to take a 6-0 lead.

The top of Terry Sanford’s lineup got a pair of runs back in the fourth.

Benny Whiteaker singled and scored on an Ethan Nobles double, and with runners on the corners, Nobles swiped home on the back end of a Jacob Moore steal.

D.H. Conley had an instant response with four more runs.

Winfield scored Knittle on a sac fly, Davis Bradley singled in Hunter Layton, and Medhus dropped a single into left that plated two more.

Entering the bottom of the sixth, the Vikings had a run-rule win in sight. Layton started the frame with a single, and Winfield followed with a double.

Terry Sanford elected to intentionally walk Bradley to load the bases for the freshman Stewart, who blasted a grand slam over the wall in right on the first pitch he saw.

Conley is now 18-1 overall and has won 16 straight games. Next week, they travel to Northside-Jacksonville and host New Bern.

Terry Sanford dropped to 18-4. The Bulldogs close out regular-season conference play next week with a two-game series against Pine Forest.

HighSchoolOT updates weekly NCHSAA playoff projections based on the state’s RPI formula. This information is available for those who are HighSchoolOT Insiders. To become an HSOT Insider or view the most recent projections, click below.