Rosewood’s Senior-Led Dream Becomes Reality, Eagles Advance To 2A State Championship

Rosewood’s Senior-Led Dream Becomes Reality, Eagles Advance To 2A State Championship

For four years, this Rosewood senior class kept chasing the same goal.

Through playoff heartbreaks, tough exits, long practices, offseason workouts and years of growing up together on the same baseball fields, they believed this moment would eventually come.

On Wednesday night, it finally did.

Rosewood defeated Perquimans County 10-8 in Game 2 of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 2A Eastern Regional Finals, clinching the series sweep and punching the Eagles’ ticket to the 2A State Championship Series against West No. 2 seed Cherryville (24-4).

“This was always the goal,” senior Kaeden Hinson said. “We had goals set at the beginning of the year. One was win a state championship. We also had one to get 20 wins. This makes 22 and we’re still moving strong.”

The celebration afterward felt years in the making.

Nine seniors — many of whom have played together since T-ball and travel ball — embraced on the field knowing their final high school chapter still has two more games left.

Two years ago, Perquimans ended Rosewood’s season in the second round of the playoffs. Last year, the Eagles reached the fourth round before falling short again.

This year, they finished the job.

“It’s hard to beat a team that’s been together for that long,” senior Jacob Craig said. “All the seniors have played with each other since we were maybe three or four years old.”

Rosewood coach Jason King praised the group afterward for the culture they built throughout the season.

“They all show up every day,” King said. “They work hard. They do what we ask them to do. They stay behind each other in the dugout. They’re good teammates. I really can’t ask for much more from a group.”

The Eagles came out swinging immediately.

After surviving Tuesday’s chaotic 20-19 walk-off victory in Game 1 — a game where both teams combined for 39 runs and used at least six pitchers each — Rosewood wasted little time attacking in Game 2.

Jack Adams delivered a two-run single in the first inning before Braxson Waters added an RBI hit. Moments later, Cam Rye launched a two-run homer to right field, giving the Eagles a quick 5-0 lead.

“We knew they were going to be a great hitting ball club,” catcher Jacob Bond said. “We knew we had to come out here, pound the strike zone and let our defense work.”

Perquimans answered quickly, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first and eventually tying the game at 6-6 in the fifth inning behind timely hitting from Brady Shepherd, Ben Brown and Brody Stallings.

But Rosewood answered once again in the sixth.

Hinson ripped a clutch two-run triple down the right-field line before Bond followed with a two-run single to center, pushing the Eagles back in front 10-6.

“My approach all season has been backside with runners in scoring position,” Hinson said. “There was a big gap on the right side and I put the ball where it needed to be.”

Rosewood finished with 14 hits as six different players recorded multi-hit performances. Rye homered and drove in two runs, while Bond also collected two RBIs. Graham Lassiter, Waters, Hinson, Ed Gardner and Cuyler Jones each added two hits.

Gardner started on the mound and battled through 4.1 innings before turning the ball over to freshman Connor Smith with the season on the line.

The moment could have overwhelmed a freshman.

Instead, Smith delivered.

The freshman reliever entered in the sixth inning and held off Perquimans over the final 2.2 innings to secure the win and send Rosewood to the state championship.

“I was nervous,” Smith admitted. “My nerves were shooting through the roof. But I just know from experience to calm down, take a couple breaths and go right back to it.”

King said the coaching staff never doubted the freshman.

“He had thrown the ball well for us earlier in the season,” King said. “We had all the confidence in the world in him.”

That confidence reflected the trust throughout Rosewood’s roster.

After burning through pitching during Tuesday’s 20-19 slugfest, the Eagles needed contributions from everywhere. Freshmen stepped into major moments. Seniors steadied the team. The defense responded after Game 1’s offensive chaos.

“We knew we made a few mistakes last night,” Gardner said. “We just had to pitch to contact, let them put the ball in play and hope we made plays. And we did.”

The Eagles also turned a critical double play late in the game, one of several defensive moments that helped hold off Perquimans’ final push.

Rosewood’s postseason run now reaches its biggest stage yet.

The Eagles advanced to the Eastern Regional Finals in 2010, 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2026. The program broke through in 2019 to reach the state championship series, but this senior group now has a chance to finish what previous teams could not.

“It’s awesome,” Adams said. “Ever since our group got to high school, it’s been a dream of ours. Every year we got a little bit closer, and being able to punch the ticket this year is absolutely great.”

Now, the Eagles head to the 2A State Championship Series with momentum, belief and a brotherhood built over years together.

And after everything they’ve endured, Rosewood’s season still isn’t over.