Can Whiteville baseball win state title this weekend for the third year in a row?

WHITEVILLE, NC (WWAY) — Whiteville has a rich tradition when it comes to baseball. They hope that rich tradition gets even richer this weekend.

Mackenzie Gore was instrumental in the 2014 1-A state championship. He was a freshman pitcher at the time. Brooks Baldwin did the same thing in 2015 for the Wolfpack in the 1-A state championship series. This year the freshman pitcher who might be called on start on the mound for the Wolfpack is Dillon Lawson. He actually went the distance when the Pack clinched the east title last week against East Carteret.

We asked Brooks Baldwin about the Whiteville pitching earlier this week. “Pitching and defense,” Baldwin told WWAY. “Defense wins championships. Our hitting has been on and off, but it’ll come around sooner or later.”

Brooks went on to add he hopes it comes around Friday and Saturday when Whiteville has to face Cherryville in the 1-A baseball state championship series. It’ll be the Pack’s 4th championship series in the last 5 years. “I think this team has faced more adversity,” per Whiteville head coach Brett Harwood. “If you look at our lineup, it’s changed every night. We change in the middle of the inning to get better arms out there. With that being said, there’s never been a time the seniors have hung their heads, whoever we put in there did the job, relying on the next guy and that’s kinda set this team apart.”

The state championship series for Whiteville once again will be held in Zebulon, the home of the Carolina Mudcats.