Tuscola falls to East Rowan, forcing pivotal NCHSAA baseball regional final Game 3

WAYNESVILLE — There was nowhere for Tuscola pitcher Mason Harrell to put East Rowan cleanup hitter Harrison Ailshie. The bases were loaded with no outs in the top of the third and East Rowan up two runs.

Harrell's first pitch sailed by Ailshie for a ball. Harrell couldn't afford to fall behind and walk another batter home. Harrell tried to sneak a fastball by, but Ailshie saw his pitch the whole way and didn't miss. The ball landed past the right-center field wall for a grand slam, effectively shutting the door on any chance for a Tuscola comeback.

Ailshie's slam carried No. 1 East Rowan to a 12-2 six-inning run-rule victory over No. 10 Tuscola (22-6) on Thursday. The Mustangs' victory evens the NCHSAA 3A West Regional finals series at a game apiece and forces a decisive Game 3 on Friday at 7 p.m. at East Rowan (31-2).

"We didn't handle adversity great tonight," Tuscola coach Zack Shepherd said. "But I think there was a lot of pressure on the kids. They know that nobody in Haywood County has been to a state championship in baseball.

"There was a bunch of people here. East Rowan did a great job of hitting us in the mouth, and we didn't really respond."

Now Tuscola turns to a winner-take-all Game 3 with an opportunity to play for a state championship on the line.

ASHEVILLE HIGH ELIMINATED: Asheville High girls soccer suffers emotional double OT loss to Mooresville in 4th round

After the game, Shepherd encouraged his team to put the game behind them.

"Honestly, we just talked about how we've played too hard not to go down there tomorrow and just compete with absolutely everything we have," he said.

He also reminded his players that they had played well enough in the postseason where they are in a series where one loss doesn't eliminate them.

Shepherd believes Tuscola needs to regain its never-die attitude that it showed in Game 1. The Mountaineers overcame a one-run deficit by scoring four runs in the top of the seventh to seal a 7-4 win.

Shepherd gave a seven-word answer when asked what the Mountaineers have to do to win.

"Make sure we compete for 27 outs," he said.

Zachary Huber is a high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times and Hendersonville Times-News. Email him at zhuber@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @zacharyahuber. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times and Times-News.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Tuscola falls to East Rowan, forcing pivotal NCHSAA baseball Game 3