McCain closes the deal for 'Pack

Shawn McCain wasn't thinking about heroics when he stepped to the mound Friday.

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The Greenbrier High School catcher had been forced into a closing role during the Wolfpack's first-round Class AAAAA playoff series with Valdosta. His three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning had given Greenbrier the lead in Game 2, after it won the opener.

He was then called on to record three outs, entering with Wildcats on first and second and no one out in the extra inning. The two teams had been playing for five hours, and would have had to return to the field for a rubber match Friday had McCain not shut the door.

"Just throw it by them, get the game over with so we can go home," McCain said he thought before mowing down three consecutive Wildcats to give Greenbrier a 9-6 win and the series. "Everybody's played hard all day; we got to get some rest. "

Greenbrier, the No. 2 seed from Region 2-AAAAA, earned a trip to face East Coweta in a series starting today. The Wolfpack won the first game 12-0 by mercy rule after five innings.

McCain went 5-for-6 at the plate during the second game and drove in seven runs, including the decisive home run on a 3-1 fastball. He also earned the save.

Wolfpack coach Chris Wilkins had planned to use McCain as the starter for Saturday's "if" game, but he was forced into action early after the Wildcats' first two batters reached in the eighth.

McCain, who has verbally committed to play for Western Carolina, threw 14 fastballs to fan the heart of the Wildcats' lineup.

"It takes a special person to be able to do that," Wilkins said. "And he's done it consistently all year, to come in and consistently throw strikes."

McCain was at the center of a controversy that almost cost the Wolfpack the second game.

In the bottom of the sixth, Valdosta's Harrison West lunged and missed a pitch. McCain and the rest of the Wolfpack thought it was a foul tip, and pleaded with the home plate umpire while two Wildcats crossed the plate to pull within a run but it wouldn't cost them.

The Wolfpack started the postseason as they have many times in the past, with a blowout.

Junior Blake Ross' homer in the second inning of the first game was the only scoring through three innings.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Wolfpack exploded for 11 runs. Ross added a two-run triple and scored on sophomore Kyler Timmerman's homer.

Greenbrier starter Chad Farmer allowed only a hit in the shortened outing. Farmer also appeared in the second game to try to maintain a one-run Greenbrier lead.