PINETOWN — The Northside Easter Tournament was a fruitful three-game stretch for Southside. The Seahawks went 2-1 in the tournament, only narrowly losing a close game to Washington in their second game of the first day.

Not only did they pick up two wins, but coach Kevin McRoy used the weekend as an opportunity to experiment with the starting lineup. For one, it gave him a ton of confidence in Demitrius Ebron’s talent as a shortstop.

“He’s a sophomore at short,” McRoy said. “He’s looked very good there. He’s made some athletic plays that have looked good. … The biggest thing for me has been shortstop. (Demitrius) has looked very good and very comfortable there. He’s made the routine plays, made the athletic plays. That’s the one that’s probably going to stick.”

McRoy also knew what he had in pitcher Paul Radford — a reliable junior that is always ready to go when need be. Radford took over for Terry Moore, who struggled a bit about halfway through last Monday’s game against South Creek. Radford, who pitched on Saturday, was more than willing to go when McRoy asked if he could.

Other than reinforcing his confidence in some key players, McRoy got the chance to call up junior varsity player Will Warren. He threw the freshman into the mix and was pleasantly surprised with his offensive contributions.

“He’s looking pretty good at the top of the lineup. He may be staying up with me, I may put him back down,” McRoy said, enjoying the fact that he has options.

McRoy added that Dahlton O’Neal did well at third base, despite a couple of low throws from third to first.

Amidst all of the shakeups, McRoy challenged his team in another way. He asked them to spend the weekend, which didn’t count for or against 1-A Coastal Plains standings, and have fun with it.

The Seahawks did just that. Their second game last Saturday was against Washington. They were tired and facing a deficit, but one would never tell looking at the dugout. Each player was alive, cheering on his teammates at bat and showing plenty of support.

That mindset translated exceptionally. Southside’s defense played relaxed, which helped minimize mistakes. On offense, the Seahawks were able to push across a run in the seventh inning to make it a one-run game. The Pam Pack brought Tripp Barfield to the mound for the final out. He almost walked in the tying run, but rallied to get the strikeout and end the frame.

There’s a lot to takeaway by playing a 2-A club that won the tournament title in such a close game.

“Any time you can go into a tournament and go 2-1 — especially after the last couple of games when we didn’t play very well — you’re going to have some confidence,” McRoy said. “If we’re going to continue to play loose and have fun and we’re confident, we’re going to carry it over.”

Southside gets to ease back into things after spring break. The team travels to Kinston on Monday for a non-conference meeting before returning home to host Pamlico County.