By JAKE POTTER
and DENNIS WILLIAMSON

GREENVILLE—The West Columbus Vikings swept Manteo Friday and Saturday to claim the N.C. 1A Eastern baseball title.

The Vikings (27-2) will face off against Chatham Central in a best-of-three series beginning Friday for the state 1A championship. Gametimes and location had not been determined at press time and will be announced Tuesday.

Vikings head coach Ricky Young said he was pleased to see the team’s hard work pay off.

“It was our goal at the beginning of the season to be here,” he said. “We’re fortunate to be in this position.

“We’ve worked really hard for our success.”

But Young was quick to point out that the team still has a series to win if it wants to claim the state title. “We just have to stay focused,” he said.

The Vikings sealed the series in Game 2 Saturday with a 4-2 win. Pitcher Daniel Britt struck out five and walked none in a complete game effort.

Three Vikings—Ryan McClenney, Devon Brown and DeMichael Smith—collected two hits each. Britt, Zack Andrews and John David White also notched hits.

West Columbus sealed the game with a solid fourth-inning offensive rally that saw three Viking runs.

With one out already on the scoreboard, Smith singled and later scored off a Brown double. McClenney then drove in Brown with a single. After stealing second base, McClenney reached home on a White hit.

The Vikings added one more in the fifth inning when Smith singled in Brett Godwin.

The Vikings took Friday’s Game 1 6-3 thanks to consistent scoring, five stolen bases and a frustrated Manteo offense.

Though Manteo racked up 11 hits during the game, the Viking pitchers—starter Stephen Nealey, McClenney, Britt and Andrews—left 14 baserunners stranded.

McClenney picked up the mound win after ending a Manteo threat in the fourth inning. He relieved Nealey with one out and the bases loaded; however, one Manteo batter hit a groundout back to McClenney, and the next batter struck out to end the inning.

Hitting for the Vikings were Andrews, Godwin and Smith. Both McClenney and Devon Brown had two hits in the win.

West Columbus will face a solid opponent in Chatham Central team Friday. The Bears, coached by Bill Slaughter, were initially ranked as high as fourth in some preseason polls, but lost several games early. But the Bears countered by going undefeated in conference play, taking the conference title. The Bears boast a high-scoring offense.