East Bladen Baseball Advances to the NCHSAA 1A Third Round After Defeating Oxford Prep 4-1

East Bladen baseball team photo.

Elizabethtown, NC - At a glance, East Bladen’s 4-1 second-round playoff win over Oxford Prep looked like a tightly matched contest between the #6 and #11 seeds. But the bracket numbers don’t tell the full story.

Oxford Prep came in ranked #4 in the 1A East by MaxPreps and held the #3 spot in RPI. Their only two losses had come against Voyager Academy, the top seed in the 1A East. Meanwhile, East Bladen was ranked #7 in the 1A East by MaxPreps and earned the higher seed due to NCHSAA rules that reward conference champions and top finishers in split conferences.

But one metric that can’t be ignored is strength of schedule. According to MaxPreps, East Bladen faced the toughest schedule of any team in the 1A East—an underrated factor that adds depth to their 13-10 overall record.

The Eagles have been tested all season against high-caliber opponents: they split games with West Brunswick (#7 in 3A East, third-round qualifier), battled South Columbus (#9 in 2A East), went toe-to-toe with West Bladen (#1 in 2A East), and played East Columbus (#6 in 1A East RPI), Whiteville (#3 in 2A East RPI, also in the third round), Freedom Christian Academy (#2 in NCISAA 2A RPI), and West Columbus (#10 in 1A East RPI).

That kind of schedule builds toughness—and this team has shown it.

On Friday night, East Bladen didn’t just pull out a win—they outplayed a strong opponent and proved they’re built for this postseason run.

Their path doesn't get any easier, but with the battle-tested edge they’ve developed, the Eagles are showing they’re more than ready for what’s next.

I remember back in February on Super Bowl Sunday I interviewed Nathan Dowless (head coach East Bladen softball) and James Ben Daly (head coach East Bladen baseball).

One of the key things I wanted to ask was their outlook for the season. Not being aware of who had graduated the year before, I was shocked to learn East Bladen baseball had lost ten seniors.

Coach Daly in February, “I have two returning starters, one is a junior and the other is a sophomore. We lost ten seniors from the team last year. We have two seniors, but they weren’t starting, so everyone else is first-year starting varsity. I expect we will be fine, we will lose some games because we are young, but we will be smart. Physically we won’t be intimidating because we are young.”

To start the season 1-5, East Bladen looked a lot like the team Coach James Ben Daly expected—young, learning, and still figuring things out. But even in that stretch, the signs were there.

Two of those five losses were one-run games, and they held a powerhouse West Bladen team to just five runs.

One game in particular stood out: a 1-0 win at home against West Brunswick on March 4. It wasn’t flashy, and it certainly wasn’t perfect. There was only one run scored the entire game. But that game captured the heartbeat of this team—smart baseball, timely execution, and a tight-knit group that believed in each other.

Sure, on that night, Coach Daly probably wanted more hits. Assistant coach Kyle Bostic was likely wishing for more rocks driven to the fence, and assistant coach Jacob Priest might’ve felt a little lonely down at first base.

But that's who this team is—not last year’s team, not next year’s team. This team wins with grit, discipline, and trust. It’s not always pretty, but it’s real—and it works.

Will that be enough in the next round to travel three and a half hours and pull off an upset? I don't know, time will tell.

But I ask, why not?

Fast forward to May, and that same “young” team just knocked off an 18-2 Oxford Prep squad—ranked #3 in the 1A East RPI and #4 in MaxPreps—with a composed 4-1 second-round win in the NCHSAA playoffs.

The Eagles now stand at 13-10 overall, and their journey continues.

As Coach Daly put it after the game:

“A heck of a win, great pitching by Jayce, good defense through the game making plays behind him. Key hits when it mattered.”

The expectations weren’t high—at least from the outside.

“No one expected us to get this far this season,” Daly said after the Oxford Prep win. “We are young.”

But this team has taken their lumps and grown up quickly.

Assistant Coach Kyle Bostic added with a smile, “If anybody says the happiest place in the world is Disney World, that’s a lie. It’s right here. Russell Priest Field.”

Coach Jacob Priest echoed the sentiment with a nod to their grit: “This was an absolute gritty win—they showed a lot of heart.”

That heart and grit were on display in a pivotal moment early in the game.

In the third inning, Oxford Prep had a runner caught between first and second. Isaiah Lee and Tyler Eason had him in a rundown, but when the runner on third broke for home, Lee made a quick decision.

With what Daly later described as a “high baseball IQ play,” Lee gunned down the lead runner at the plate, allowing Colton Daly being able to apply the tag, preserving a 1-1 tie and shifting momentum in East Bladen’s favor.

East Bladen broke the tie in the fifth. Lewis stayed hot at the plate, ripping a grounder to left that scored Eason and pushed Aiden Hargrove to third. Zach Sholar followed with a sacrifice fly, bringing Hargrove home and giving the Eagles a 3-1 lead.

In the sixth, Eason grounded out to short but brought in another run, extending the cushion to 4-1.

Lewis finished the night 2-for-3 with a double, a single, a run scored, and an RBI. Eason added a single, scored once, and drove in a run. Lee delivered an RBI single in the opening frame.

Jayce Hatcher smacked a double and walked once. Musslewhite, Hargrove, and Sholar each contributed in key spots—whether at the plate or in the field.

Sholar was a steady presence in center, hauling in four fly balls. Musslewhite matched him with four putouts in right field. Cromartie made a clean grab in left.

Daly was solid behind the plate with five putouts and an assist. On the infield, Bostic chipped in two assists at third, and Lewis added three at short. Lee recorded five putouts at first and one crucial assist. Hatcher helped himself with three assists off the mound.

And speaking of Hatcher—he was nothing short of brilliant.

Over seven complete innings, the young right-hander held Oxford Prep to just three hits and one unearned run, walking four and striking out five.

East Bladen opened their playoff run with a 4-2 win over Hobgood Charter on Tuesday. The win last night and now, the Eagles will travel to face #3 Perquimans on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the third round.

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East Bladen Baseball Advances to the NCHSAA 1A Third Round After Defeating Oxford Prep 4-1