When No. 9 T.C. Roberson baseball embarked on a week-long road trip that spanned over 13 hours and 800 miles, it hoped to return home bonded together more than ever as it begins a quest for a second straight state title.

Wins and losses were not the lone goal, but the final 330 miles home will feel a bit sweeter after ending the trip unbeaten following a 7-1 victory over No. 2 ranked J.H. Rose.

The battle of 2023 state finalists saw the Rampants enter with an unblemished record of 14-0.

A marquee pitching matchup headlined the non-conference tilt. North Carolina recruit Andrew Wallen matched the reigning 4A state championship MVP Micah Simpson pitch for pitch.

The battle of aces yielded a 1-1 score through five.

T.C. Roberson’s offense sent ten men to the plate, and erupted for six runs on six hits in the top of the sixth to put the game out of reach.

Simpson helped his own cause to break the ice in the second. He reached and advanced to second on a lead-off error. Chappy Smith bunted him to third, and Jake Parham scored him on a safety squeeze.

The 1-0 lead would hold until the bottom of fourth.

Parker Watson won a lengthy at-bat by drawing a lead-off walk. He would advance to third on an errant pick-off attempt, and score on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Ethan Simmons.

Wallen struck out two as he turned in a shutdown fifth inning to close out his afternoon. The right hander allowed an unearned run on two hits, a walk, and he sat down six via K.

Roberson caught a break to start the top half of the sixth, and it would be enough to open the floodgates.

Zeb Swangim lofted a fly ball to right that was lost in the sun allowing him to reach second. Caden Davidson lined a double to left center that scored Swangim and broke the 1-1 tie. Simpson, Smith, and Parker Filipek followed with RBI singles to push the lead to 5-1.

J.T. Smith, the ninth batter of the inning, provided the biggest blow with a two-run double off of the fence in center.

The six-run frame helped hand Simpson the win on the mound. In his five innings, he limited the Rampants to just three hits while striking out four.

C.J. Wallace came in out of the bullpen and closed out the game with two scoreless innings.

T.C. Roberson’s 4-0 week featured wins over two teams that entered the week ranked Top-10 in HighSchoolOT’s latest statewide rankings. The Rams knocked off Reagan to open the Cougar Diamond Classic at South Brunswick, defeated the host school 11-3 a night later, and traveled up to New Hanover and earned a 5-3 victory on Thursday before heading up to Greenville to close out the week.

Next week, the team jumps back into league play with a two-game series against Erwin before hosting Combine Academy on Saturday afternoon.

Jay Tyndall went 2-for-3 out of the nine hole for J.H. Rose. The Rampants dropped to 14-1 with the defeat, and return to action at Havelock on Tuesday. Rose also hosts South Central and Cardinal Gibbons next week.

Source: highschoolot.com