By DAN BISER

The Whiteville Wolfpack snapped the South Columbus Stallions’ nine-game winning streak Tuesday night even though late-inning pitching difficulties had things hanging by a bare thread.

With three pitchers giving up walks in the final inning, the Wolfpack still managed a 5-4 baseball win over the Stallion squad at Legion Stadium in a game of Waccamaw Conference leaders. It was the eighth straight win for Coach Brett Harwood’s Wolfpack as it moved to 6-0 in conference and 10-5 for the season. Whiteville played host to East Columbus on Wednesday.

“We did a good job getting the lead but we had a tough time finishing,” Harwood said. “Playing a team like South Columbus means you have to battle to the end. It ended kind of ugly, but we’ll take it.”

Junior righthander Robbie Penny got his second pitching win in four days and also got the big hit of the night with a two-run fifth-inning triple that helped the Wolfpack extend its lead to 5-0. Penny held the Stallions scoreless until the sixth and was relieved by Sprandon Mahoney and then Trey Nye in the seventh.

Penny, who had pitched a one-hitter in the Wolfpack’s 12-4 win over North Brunswick last Friday, held the Stallions to two hits while striking out six.

“We saw the best pitching we have seen since we played West Columbus,” South Columbus coach Willie Gore said. “Penny did a good job and they made some good defensive plays behind him.

“We didn’t hit the ball well,” said Gore, whose Stallions scored all their runs in the final two innings. “We managed to make a game of it at the end but we didn’t do a very good job of putting the bat on the ball. We have been averaging around 12 hits per game and we didn’t get that night. I don’t think we came over here in the frame of mind we needed to be in for this game.”

South Columbus is now 6-1 in conference and 11-4 overall.

SCHS senior Justin Creech absorbed the mound loss. He struck out 10 batters and gave up four hits before getting relieved by Ethan Ward in the sixth inning.

Whiteville went ahead to stay in the bottom of the second inning when Mahoney led off with a double to right field. He later scored from third on a ground out by Lloyd Enzor.

In the fifth inning, Mahoney led off with a walk and Scott Stephens followed with a bunt single. Penny then drove a 2-0 pitch to right field that escaped the reach of Stallion rightfielder Jordan Lanier to scored two runs. Chris Harris, Penny’s courtesy runner, scored from third on a passed ball. Cameron White reached on a dropped third strike and later scored on an error following a bunt by Quan Gaddy to make the score 5-0.

South Columbus got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning on a walk, an error, a sacrifice fly by Landon Simmons and single by Charlie Gore.

In the top of the seventh inning, Blake Spivey led off for the Stallions and walked on a 3-2 pitch. Mahoney came in from centerfield to relieve Penny. Mahoney recorded a strikeout and loaded the bases with two walks before Nye came on to pitch with one out. South Columbus got two runs to score from third in the final inning and the tying run on and go-ahead runs at second and third base before Nye got Simmons to ground out to Enzor at first base to end the game.

South Columbus’ only hit through the first five innings was on a single past first base by Jeremy Harrelson in the third inning.

Penny finished with two hits for Whiteville and Mahoney tallied two runs.