APEX, N.C. — There’s not a high school baseball team in the state with more flair for the dramatics than Ashley.

For the fifth time in its last six playoff victories, dating back to last season, the Screaming Eagles prevailed in extra innings.

This time it was in the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A playoffs at Apex Friendship.

After giving up three runs in the first inning to the host Patriots, Ashley pitched nine innings of shutout ball and scored the game winner in the top of the 10th inning to come away with the road win by a 4-3 score.

Ashley (22-4) also won its first-round game over Broughton by a 4-3 score in extra innings. The Screaming Eagles won three straight extra-innings games in last year’s playoffs (all walk-offs). Since last year’s fourth round, the only time Ashley has won in the standard seven innings came in Game 3 of the East regional final series, and that was a 1-0 walk-off.

“The guys always feel that, no matter what happens to them at the start of the game, they’re always going to be in the game at the end,” Ashley coach Ben Stroehl said. “It’s crazy how we’ve had that many extra-innings games in the last two years — this is the first one on the road.”

Apex Friendship (22-7) entered the game as one of the hottest teams in the state, having won 20 of its last 21 games. The Southwest Wake Athletic Conference champs, which started the year 2-5, started off Thursday’s game with three runs on an RBI single by Connor Sousa and two-RBI single by Jason Brown.

However, Ashley starting pitcher Jackson Lee settled in, striking out three and allowing six hits across seven innings of work.

The Screaming Eagles (22-4) scored two in the top of the second as Hudson Hauck homered to left field to bring him and Corey Barnes across, and Drew Potter singled in Tanner Berry in the top of the third.

The score remained deadlocked for another six innings.

Apex Friendship starting pitcher Owen Cirasole went 8 and 1/3 innings, striking out seven and getting out of jams.

The Screaming Eagles loaded the bases with one out in the top of the 10th, and Nate Carmack — who led all batters with a game-high three hits — reached on an infield single to bring across the go-ahead run.

Coleman Cross shut the door with a 1-2-3 bottom half of the inning, and Ashley is a step closer to returning to the state championship series, where last year they were 4A runner-up.

The game was moved up a day in preparation for what could be a rainy Triangle Friday.

In Tuesday’s third round, Ashley will either make the short trip to the other side of Wilmington to face third-seeded Laney or host 14th-seeded Millbrook. Those two teams are scheduled to meet Friday.

BOX SCORE
ASH 0-2-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-1 4
AFR 3-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 3

Ashley
Ks: Jackson Lee (3), Coleman Cross (1)
Hits: Quinn Bentley (1), Tanner Berry (2), Corey Barnes (1), Drew Potter (2), Hudson Hauck (1), Cross (1), Nate Carmack (3), Will Hartzell (2)
RBIs: Potter (1), Hauck (2), Carmack (1)
XBHs: Bentley (double), Berry (double), Hauck (HR)

Apex Friendship
Ks: Owen Cirasole (7), Connor Sousa (2)
Hits: Hayden Fones (2), Sousa (3), Connor Payne (1), Jason Brown (1)
RBIs: Sousa (1), Brown (2)
XBHs: none