Generally, the teams that come up with the big two-out hits and pitch the ball well win playoff games.
Newton County Academy did both last week.
The Generals got two dominant pitching performances and plenty of two-out hits as they swept River Oaks 5-0 and 4-3 to advance to the second round of the Class AA playoffs.
The Generals climbed to 12-14 with the win and will face Centerville, La., in the second round of the Class AA playoffs. Centerville got a first-round bye.
NCA 5, River Oaks 0
The Generals got a dominant pitching performance from senior Braxton Rose as the East Central signee threw a one-hit shutout on Tuesday.
The Generals scored two runs in the first inning as Zach Joyner doubled and Kemp Alderman walked. With two outs, Rose doubled to right center to score Joyner and Alderman.
In the second, Hayden Wall singled to right field and Logan Little doubled to left with two outs to score Wall and give the Generals a 3-0 lead. The Generals added two more runs in the fifth inning as Joyner was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a single by Alderman. Alec Thompson singled up the middle to score Joyner and Alderman came home on a sacrifice fly by Rose.
The Generals had seven hits in the contest as Kemp Alderman was 2-for-2 with two runs scored. Rose had three RBIs while Joyner scored twice.
Rose gave up one hit in 6 2/3 innings and struck out a season-high 16 batters while scattering three runs. Kemp Alderman got the final out for the Generals.
NCA 4, River Oaks 3
The Generals got another solid pitching performance in a one-run win over River Oaks on Thursday to sweep the series from the Mustangs. The Generals scored two runs in the second inning as Austin Upton walked and Lincoln Jordan was hit by a pitch.
Both moved up on a passed ball and came home on a single by Logan Little with two outs for a 2-0 lead.
The Generals extended the lead to 3-0 when Upton walked and made it all the way around on three passed balls. River Oaks cut the lead to 3-2 on a two-run home run in the fourth.
The Generals added an insurance run in the seventh when Kemp Alderman hit a long double to left field and came home on an RBI single by Braxton Rose to take a 4-2 lead.
With Thompson at his pitch limit, Alderman came in to close out the game but walked three batters and hit another to allow one run. But the No. 2 hole hitter grounded out to shortstop to end the game.
NCA only had five hits as Little drove in two runs. Upton walked twice and scored twice while Hayden Wall walked twice.
