GREENVILLE, N.C. – When J.H. Rose stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first inning on Monday night, the No. 16 Rampants were already staring down a 3-0 deficit.

Five minutes later, they had a lead they would not relinquish in an eventual 13-7 victory.

Ethan Simmons and Ahmad Abulatifa each hit two-run home runs in the first inning to rip the momentum into the home dugout.

Abulatifa and Matthew Aldridge combined to go 6-for-7 with six runs scored and three batted in.

The Wolfpack seized an early lead thanks to a walk, a sacrifice bunt, a balk, and a ground out. Leading 1-0 with two down in the frame, Layton McLean ripped a two-run double into left to push the advantage to 3-0.

J.H. Rose grabbed two in the fourth and four in the fifth to put the game out of reach.

Abulatifa and Jaiden Floyd singled to start the fourth and scored on a two-out single from Josh Roberson.

With two away in the fifth, five straight Rampants reached base, including consecutive run-scoring singles off the bats of Owen Simmons and Justin Grimes. Simmons would later score on a throwing error to inflate the Rose lead to 10-3.

The Rampants responded to a Whiteville run in the sixth with four more in the bottom half of the frame.

McLean helped the Wolfpack make noise in the seventh with a bases-clearing double to finish his night 2-for-3 with five RBI.

On the mound, J.H. Rose got four innings of work from Caleb Grandy, and Ethan Simmons nailed down the save with one hit allowed over three innings.

Now 17-3 overall, the Rampants embark on the final two weeks of league play. They travel to Jacksonville on Tuesday and host Northside-Jacksonville on Thursday.

Whiteville plays First Flight on Tuesday and has a week off before wrapping up the regular season with a two-game series against South Columbus.

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