HURRICANE -- Cabell Midland's bats continue to shine in the Class AAA, Region IV, Section 3 baseball tournament, and the pitching was equally as impressive on Wednesday night as the Knights defeated Lincoln County 11-4 in an elimination game at Hurricane High School.
Cabell Midland now faces Hurricane at 6 p.m. today at Hurricane High School in the championship round.
"Tonight was a better overall effort and we played more to the team concept," Cabell Midland coach Tracy Brumfield said.
One night after hitting three home runs off of Hurricane's Justin Henry, the Knights got back-to-back home runs in a five-run fifth inning to blow open a tight contest.
Cabell Midland jumped out a 4-0 lead after three innings, but the Panthers trimmed that lead to 4-3 after scoring three runs in the fourth inning off of Cabell Midland starter Kevan Clark.
The Knights immediately answered by getting five extra-base hits in the bottom of the fourth, including Jake Gaskins' two-run home run and Chase Perry's solo shot to increase the lead to 9-3.
Brumfield said Lincoln County's run was a wake-up call to his team.
"We just decided we had to win this game or we are done. The kids stepped up," Brumfield said. "We did a better job hitting opposite field and got more aggressive when we got ahead in the count."
In the loss to Hurricane, the Knights fell behind early and had to catch up, but in this game Clark was able to contain the Lincoln County offense early.
The Knights scored lone runs in the first and third innings and a pair of runs in the second to give their pitcher some cushion.
Dakota Nelson led the Knights, going 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI while Corey Miller had a pair of doubles to go with a pair of RBI also.
Adam Wakefield, who had a pair of home runs against Hurricane, went 2-for-2 with two doubles. He now is 5-for-5 in two postseason games.
If the Knights defeat Hurricane in tonight's contest, the two teams will meet at 6 p.m. Friday at Hurricane High School with the winner claiming the section crown.
LINCOLN COUNTY 000 300 1 -- 4 5 1
CABELL MIDLAND 121 520 x -- 11 11 4
Seth Frazier, Ian Handy (3), Brandon Miller (7) and Pritchard; Kevin Clark, Tyler Anderson (4), Chase Perry (6) and Pat Stapleton
Hitting: (LC) Chad Sizemore 2-3, Austin Lucas 2B, RBI; (CM) Corey Miller 2-4, 2 2Bs, 2 RBI, Dakota Nelson 3-4, 3B, 2 RBI, Jake Gaskins 2-run HR, Chase Perry HR, Adam Wakefield 2-2, 2 2Bs
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