West Henderson sweeps J.H. Rose to capture NCHSAA 3-A baseball championship

BURLINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA – The West Henderson Falcons followed up Friday night’s 6-2 win with a 2-1 win on Saturday afternoon at Burlington Athletic Stadium against J.H. Rose to win the NCHSAA 3-A baseball state championship.

The Falcons took the lead on Saturday in the bottom of the first inning as C Alex Anderson scored on an error. In the third, Anderson, who was named MVP of the series, singled home Eli Shinn to give West Henderson a 2-0 lead.

The Rampants cut the lead in half in the top of the fifth when Mitch Jones hit a solo home run to left field but that proved to be J.H. Rose’s only run of the game. Falcon starting pitcher Nicky Stanko earned the win as he tossed 6.1 innings and allowed the one run on seven hits.

For the game, SS Jackson Lyda and LF Jude Lyda each went 2-for-3. Rampants Jones, Ives Howard and Alex Popovich all pitched in a pair of hits.

In Game 1 on Friday, the Falcons scored in each of the first two innings and added three more in the fourth to take a comfortable 5-0 lead. The Rampants plated a pair of runs in the fifth, but pitcher Truitt Manuel kept J.H. Rose in check the rest of the way.

Manuel twirled a gem for the Falcons as he went the distance and struck out ten batters while giving up just two runs on six hits.

Offensively for the Falcons, C Alex Anderson went 2-for-2 with 3 RBIs and two runs scored, including a home run. LF Jackson Lyda also went 2-for-4 on the night and Manuel helped his own cause with a pair of RBIs.

For the Rampants, SS Alex Popovich went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing and promoting good sportsmanship and has partnered with the NC Farm Bureau to honor two student-athletes at each of this year’s championships with Sportsmanship Awards for excellence throughout the season. The 3A Baseball Sportsmanship Award winners were Jesse Baldwin from West Henderson and Cameron Dally from J.H. Rose.

West Henderson ended the season 27-5 and left Burlington with their second NCHSAA State Championship and first since 1992. Rose, the 2021 state champions, finished 2023 at 26-4.