T.C. Roberson takes 7-3 win to clinch 4A baseball series over Wake Forest

The T.C. Roberson Rams are the 4A baseball state champions for the first time since 2017 after a 7-3 win over the Wake Forest Cougars on Saturday night in Burlington.

After a first game in which the Rams beat the Cougars by run rule and a second earlier Saturday in which the Cougars answered back with a tight 3-1 win, Roberson needed four innings to strike the decisive blow in the series.

The pitching matchup featured Micah Simpson starting for the Rams. Simpson threw all five innings on Friday night but still had about 60 pitches left below his limit.

He was opposed by Wake Forest freshman Carson Crider, who threw six shutout innings in the regional final's third game to get the Cougars to this series.

The Cougars struck first and quickly. The first two batters of the game reached base, and senior catcher and UNC signee Luke Stevenson smashed a Simpson pitch over the right field wall to stake his team to a 3-0 lead before the Rams recorded an out.

Crider worked out of a jam in the first inning to preserve the lead, but he couldn't do the same in the second.

The Rams tied the game in that inning when Zeb Swangim doubled to center to score two.

The game remained tied at three apiece until the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Rams put together a long string of good at-bats.

Caden Davidson gave his team the lead on a single to left that scored one, and Simpson sent a double to deep right field with the bases loaded to make it 7-3.

As Simpson approached his pitch limit, Nick Parham took over on the mound and was able to hold Wake Forest's strong bats in check.

The win gives Roberson its fourth state title in program history, with the other three coming in 2000, 2002 and 2017.