By DAN BISER
Sports Editor

The Waccamaw Academy Warriors, having taken a sizeable snub by the seeding committee of the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association 1A baseball playoffs last Wednesday, came out smokin’ in Friday’s opening round play with a 13-0 victory over Fayettevill’s Northwood Temple Academy on the no-hit pitching of Kyle Hufham and a two-home run performance by Grayson Graham.

The game was halted in the fifth inning by the 10-run rule as Coach Winfred Johnson’s Warriors put their season record at 10-10.

The sixth-seeded Warrior squad will travel to Henderson Tuesday to take on third-seeded Kerr-Vance Academy at 6:30 p.m., in second round play.

The Warriors, who put Northwood Temple Academy away with an eight-run fourth inning, are the four-time defending NCISAA 1A champion, but that apparently had no effect on this year’s seeding format.

Waccamaw Academy routinely schedules non-conference games against NCHSAA 1A and 2A teams and this spring played host to a pair of strong 3A teams from New York
“We were told at Wednesday’s meeting that the seeding wouldn’t be based on strength of schedule, but solely on a team’s record against other teams in the playoffs,” said Johnson, who is in his first season as Warrior head coach. “Even though we clearly deserved a top-four seed and a first-round bye, it was pretty much stacked against us from the beginning.”

Hufham, a freshman, rung up 11 strike-outs to put his season total over 100 in Friday’s win.

Grayson Graham hit home runs in the first and third innings and also added a single. Sterling Graham and Jonathan Dew had two hits and Jimmy Davis hit a two-run double.

Hufham, Jason Taylor and Aaron Howd also had hits.

“It was a good first-round effort,” Coach Johnson said. “We were aggressive with the bats and on the bases, and Kyle gave us a real good outing on the mound.”

John Wood was the losing pitcher for Northwood Temple.

The winner of Tuesday’s Waccamaw Academy-Kerr Vance game will advance to the state finals set for May 18-19 at Wilson’s Fleming Stadium.

Wood, Puryear (6) and Davis, Hall (2); Hufham and Taylor.