By DAVID CUCCHIARA

Washington Daily News

HERTFORD, N.C. – No other Beaufort County baseball or softball team had a tougher first round challenge than Southside. The Seahawks, who lost the battle for county bragging rights, a third-place finish in the Coastal Plains and a higher seed in the first round of the state tournament in their defeat to Northside last week, had to face Perquimans on Tuesday.

This season, the Pirates swept the Coastal Ten Conference with a perfect 16-0 record. To counter an offense that has scored double-digit runs in each of its last six games, head coach Kevin McRoy decided to go with his senior ace to try to douse Perquimans’ red hot bats. Alex Graves, who is coming off a one-earned run, 6.2-inning performance in the game against Northside, has been a workhorse for the Seahawks this season.

But against the Pirates, Graves’ career at Southside came to a close in a 15-1 rout.

On the third pitch of the ballgame, Nathan Gardner quickly set the offensive tempo with a leadoff triple to right-center. The next three batters reached and when the dust settled, the Pirates had a commanding four-run lead.

On the mound, Gardner proved virtually unhittable, pitching three perfect innings to start the game. Finally, in the fourth, Southside was able to push across its first and only run of the game after Wil Mumford worked the count full, eventually reaching on a walk. Graves followed with a double to left-center.

For Perquimans, the offense never let up, as the team scored two in the second, four in the third and five in the fourth to seal another double-digit victory via the mercy rule.

Southside finishes the season with an 8-10 record in McRoy’s first season at the helm. While graduating four seniors, the team could potentially return 10 underclassmen next season.