CHARLOTTE
With his power-generating high leg kick gone and reduced to pitching from the stretch, senior Jordan Darnell of Charlotte Ardrey Kell dug in for one last pitch with his team up one run.
Bases loaded. Two outs. Full count. Facing North Davidson's cleanup hitter.
And like he had all game, Darnell found a way to get it done.
Darnell got lefty Zach White to fly out in the top of the seventh inning to give second-year school Ardrey Kell (26-4) a 4-3 victory in the NCHSAA Class 4-A Western Regional semifinals last night. Ardrey kell will play Providence in the best-of-three 4-A semifinals that start today at Ardrey Kell.
North Davidson finishes its season 23-4. It lost to eventual state champion South Caldwell in the 4-A semifinals last year.
Darnell threw 136 pitches, struck out 10 and walked seven, including three straight to lead off the game. But, he didn't allow the Black Knights a big inning.
"He's got the bulldog mentality," said Coach Mike Meadows of North Davidson. "Their coach put a man on to load the bases, and he didn't even flinch."
With Ardrey Kell up 4-2 in the seventh, Coach Hal Bagwell chose to load the bases by intentionally walking Tyler Hanover, who has 10 home runs for the Black Knights. After a wild pitch scored a run, Darnell got White to fly out to end the game.
"I had it in my head that I was going to win the game," said Darnell, his right shoulder and elbow wrapped with large bags of ice after the game. "By then, though, I was running on fumes."
For North Davidson, it was a case of lost opportunities. The Black Knights only scored one run after loading the bases with no outs in the first. Their patience at the plate wore Darnell down and forced him to the stretch. Still, North Davidson managed only two hits in the game.
"We thought if we could keep it under 10 strikeouts, we could win the game," Meadows said.
Tied at two in the fifth inning, Ardrey Kell manufactured a run that would give it the lead for good. Jonny Eaker doubled, then Andrew Miller bunted him to third. Ryan Stetson's deep fly ball to center scored Eaker.
Ardrey Kell took the lead in the second inning off four straight singles that scored two runs. North Davidson tied the game in the fourth, when Aaron Carter bunted Ben Richmond home. Ardrey Kell took the lead right back in the fifth and never gave it back.
A potential threat for the Black Knights in the sixth ended with a quirky 5-4-3-4 double play that included an overthrow bouncing off a fence back to an Ardrey Kell player.
"That's the breaks," Meadows said. "We just didn't get enough of them."
North Davidson 100 100 1 -- 3 2 1
Ardrey Kell 020 011 x -- 4 7 1
WP -- Jordan Darnell (9-2). LP -- Clay Watson (11-3). Leading hitters: AK- Brett Nyenhuis 2-2, 2 RBIs; Jonny Eaker 1-2, double and run scored
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