A six-run third inning helped Post 70 stay alive Thursday morning in the Southeast Regional Tournament in North Carolina.

Post 70 defeated West Virginia 8-1 in the elimination game.

“We came out and played a lot better,” said head coach Rush Hixon. “We still came out of the gates slow, but we had a couple big innings to get up 6-0. We were able to scratch a few across late to bring it to eight runs. I was pleased with everything we did today. That is tough game to play at 9:30 in the morning after a loss.”

Post 70 was forced in to a must-win game after falling on Wednesday to Randolph County.

“Given the situation it was impressive the way the bounced back the way they did,” Hixon said. “We told them if they were able to fight this one that we felt good about the next two days. They answered the call and played really good when it mattered. All around it was a good performance, but we have to keep it going.”

Nathan Light was the first of four pitchers for Post 70. Light pitched two innings and allowed one hit before giving way to Jackson Bryd, Graham Wilkes and Jackson Tate.

“He (Light) didn’t have his best stuff, but he was stable to compete and keep them scoreless,” Snyder said. “Jackson was phenomenal. He threw a lot of strikes and got in and out quick. It was a combined effort from the pitching staff once again. All four did really well.”

Santiago Garcia and Jackson Murphy both went 3-5 with two RBI to lead Post 70 at the plate. Post 70 also had hits from Tate, Logan Thompson, Bryson Gandy, DJ Law and Casey Henderson.

“We had a few guys get some really big hits,” Hixon said. “We were able to do some good things. Their starter threw well early on, but we were able to get in their pen pretty quick. It was a good effort.”

Both pitching staffs controlled the game over the first two innings. In the third inning Post 70 broke out for six runs on four hits. Garcia singled through the left side to score both Thompson and Tate to put Post 70 up 2-0. Murphy followed with a two-run double to score both Garcia and John Miller. Murphy scored the fifth run of the inning on a wild pitch and Henderson singled to second to score Garcia.

Both pitching staff’s shut down the opposing offenses over the next four innings. In the eighth inning, Post 70 tacked on another run when Thompson scored on a throwing error to give Post 70 an 8-0 lead.

West Virginia scored their lone run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Post 70 hopes they are again on the right track as they prepare for another elimination game on Friday beginning at 4:30.

“We got our feet wet yesterday (Wednesday) and we were able to come back and win today (Thursday),” Hixon said. “I think we have a lot of momentum moving forward.”