By DAN BISER

West Columbus High’s strong hopes for the school’s first state baseball championship in 36 years were pounded away by the bats of the Chatham Central Bears Sunday afternoon at N.C. State University’s Doak Field.

Chatham Central rapped out 20 hits, including a 4-for-5 effort by second baseman Spencer Andrews, to take a 13-3 victory over the Vikings in the third and deciding game of the state 1A high school championship series.

The Bears, who finished as state runnerup last year, sent nine batters to the plate and scored four runs in the third inning. In the seventh inning, the Chatham squad put the game well out of reach by sending 10 batters to the plate and bringing across six runs. The Bears, who compiled a 27-7 season record, got a strong pitching performance by lefthander Keith Josey, who faced only 10 Viking batters in the first three innings. Josey, a 5-foot-5 inch lefthanded breaking-ball specialist, and reliever Cole Hudson, held WCHS to four hits.

Andrews, who also made a key defensive play in the sixth inning, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the championship series. Eight of the nine players in the Bear batting order had at least two hits.

“In (Game 2), West Columbus took it to us with their offense and controlled things all the way,” said Chatham Central head coach Billy Slaughter. “We knew we were going to have to be a lot more aggressive today if we expected to come back and beat West Columbus. The key was keeping them off the basepaths early, and Josey did a great job for us there. He really threw well.”

Just as they had in the first game of the best-of-seven series, the Bears were able to create a lot of offense off WCHS pitching ace Daniel Britt. Chatham Central got five runs off seven hits against Britt before the Viking starter was relieved by Stephen Nealey in the third inning. Ryan McCleney and Timothy Brown also pitched in relief.

“They just hit the ball,” Young said. “You aren’t going to win much when the other team gets 20 hits. After coming back and winning yesterday, we thought we had set ourselves up pretty well for today, but it just didn’t happen. Everything they hit seemed to fall in.

“It’s really disappointing but we have still had a great season and I’m as proud as I can be of all our players,” added Young, whose Vikings finished the season with a 28-4 record, the highest number of single-season victories in school history.

West Columbus tried to overcome a 7-0 fourth-inning deficit when John David White reached on an error and Zack Andrews singled for the first Viking hit. White advanced to third base on the hit and Andrews took second on a throw to third. Britt followed with a single to score the first two Viking runs.

In the sixth inning, McCleney led off with a single and J.D. White walked. One out later, Britt drove a single to score McCleney. Brett Godwin followed with a line drive that bounced out of shortstop Seth Kivett’s gloved for an error to load the bases. After Bradley Cutrell popped out to second base for the second out, a would-be hit to rightfield by Timothy Brown was grabbed on a diving catch by Spencer Andrews to retire the side with the bases loaded.

“That play was the turning point of the game as far as I’m concerned,” Coach Slaughter said. “If that hit gets through, it’s probably a 7-5 game and they’re still at bat.”

With the Viking pitching experienced pitching ranks virtually exhausted, Chatham Central put up six more runs with six more hits in the top of the seventh inning to put the game and the state championship well out of reach.

Coach Young said that the Vikings will miss the strong group of seniors –Devon Brown, McCleney, White, Andrews, Britt, Godwin, Smith, Ryan Nobles and Blake McPherson - who have been part of the most prolific back-to-back seasons ever in West Columbus High baseball.

“They have a put our progaram at a level that we will need to work hard to keep,” Young said. “They are all great kids who have given it everything they’ve had.”

West Columbus won the Southeastern Conference championship as well as the Jiggs Powers Memorial Tournament title.

In the state playoffs, West Columbus took wins over Union 8-1, Princeton 5-0 and Topsail 8-3 before defeating previously unbeaten Manteo by scores of 6-3 and 4-2 for the Eastern N.C. 2A championship.

West Columbus High’s lone state baseball championship came in 1970 when it swept Hendersonville in two straight games for the 2A title.

Josey, Hall (6) and Johnson; Britt, Nealy (3), McCleney (4), T. Brown (7) and Andrews.