Burlington – West Henderson Falcons swept J.H. Rose Rampants in two 3A championship games on Friday and Saturday, to win their first state title in 31 years.
West won regular-season conference titles in a school-record eight sports in 2022-23, including a Triple Crown of football, men’s basketball, and baseball. West head baseball coach Jackie Corn, Jr. and his assistants called their players’ feat “legendary.” West was seeded third in the West Region, and defeated the East’s number one seed in two straight in Burlington’s minor league park.
Manuel Overdrive
West Henderson (27-5) pitching ace Truitt Manuel won the series opener 6-2. He mowed down a J.H. Rose (26-5) offense that averaged nine runs in four playoff wins. Manuel (11-1) ramped it up to shut down the Rampants. He finishes 2023 with an earned run average below 0.75 and a sub-0.90 WHIP. He has 120 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings.
Manuel fanned ten batters — two each in the second and last innings, including the final two batters after two Rampants got on base. The N.C. State-bound junior said that his curveball “felt great,” and his changeup prompted strikeouts and groundouts. He also threw a mile per hour faster than ever before. Several Manuel pitches clocked in at 95 mph, according to Falcon pitching tutor Seth Grant.
“Truitt’s a high-velocity guy,” said Grant, a 2007 West grad and ace then. “Good week of preparation, and adrenaline in the heat of the moment. Truitt was dialed in. All of his pitches in his repertoire worked against Rose, and against Oak Grove” in regional finals.
Manuel yielded merely one Rampant hit over the first four innings, two runs in the fifth, but no hits for its do-or-die final two at-bats. Normally reserved, Manuel pumped fists after crucial outs. He got Rose’s two-way star, 6-foot-7 UNC-bound Andrew Wallen (10 HR), to hit a grounder to the mound. Manuel fielded it, and threw to second to initiate a double play. He also smashed a two-run triple. “Tru-Bear” is his nickname since childhood. He growled with extra-intense focus last weekend.
‘Tricky Nicky‘
Nick Stanko (5-0, 1.70 ERA) pitched into the final inning in torrid humidity Saturday afternoon, in the 2-1 clincher. He earned the moniker “Tricky Nicky.” Steady Stanko kept the Rampants off balance with his best pitch. “My curve felt great,” the gutsy, slender senior said. His change-up also clicked.
Above all, “I have the best defense around.” Indeed, his three best friends Saturday seemed his curve, Falcon defense, and walls 400 feet from home in center and 330 down the lines. West won its ‘92 title in that same park.
Hustling Catches
Falcon outfielders made sensational catches, as Rose often flied out deep. First, center fielder Manuel dashed back near the warning track to make his catch look easy.
Next, senior Lukas Kachilo proved a thorn in Rose’s side. The bases were loaded with Rampants. A fly ball went deep into the center-right gap. Kachilo raced over, leaped up, and caught the ball for the third out. “Lukas saved two runs,” Manuel noted. Head coach Jackie Corn said post-game to Kachilo, “You caught the freakin’ ball!”” Kachilo is called “Trout” after MLB star Mike Trout, and for trout fishing. With two Rampants on base an inning later, a hit ball sliced away from left fielder Jude Lyda. He raced over and back for a stunning, leaping catch.
AAA-rated MVP
West scored a run each in the first and third innings. State tournament MVP Alex Anderson scored a first run, and knocked in a run. Jovial, animated “Muggy” expressively “mugs” for the camera. He yet again earned the Tribune’s nickname for him of “AAA” — “Alert Alex Anderson.” He makes heads-up plays when hitting and running bases and on defense.
Anderson took off from first base to steal second base. The catcher’s throw caromed off burly UNC-bound senior lefty pitcher Hugh Collins’ head, going wide of first base. Anderson zoomed all the way home. Coach Corn is the team’s third base coach. “Coach told me to keep going,” Anderson said. “I kept running!”
J.H. Rose, from Greenville, N.C., got a solo shot from lefty Virginia Tech-bound Mitch Jones to cut the West lead in half in the fifth frame. Jones later deemed it a sign Rose would win.
But Stanko kept Rose at bay. Lanky junior Grant Putnam relieved him with a runner on first and one out. He got the last two outs. Putnam said that his heart felt like it was pumping outside of his chest.
First baseman Jake Lindsey fielded a one-bouncer, and made an unassisted put-out at first base. When young, Jake “often dreamed of winning a state title” – just as his father pitching coach Anthony Lindsey did in ’92. Putnam walked Wallen. But he got Jones to ground to shortstop Jackson Lyda fielded a grounder and threw to Eli Shinn who stepped on second base for a forceout.
Game One Heroics
Anderson homered in the opening game’s second at-bat. His arcing blast to left was last spotted orbiting over Montreal. He hit .600 with five homers in the playoffs. Jude Lyda doubled in a run an inning later. Manuel’s two-run triple sparked a three-run Falcon burst in the fourth that proved the difference in scoring.
Catcher Anderson threw out a runner at second to squelch a Rampant rally. He backed up first on an errant throw, dashed to retrieve the ball, and gunned out the runner.
The opening win boosted Falcon confidence. Coach Corn told his Falcons that “we belong here!”