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The North Stanly baseball season ended Tuesday night on the road in the opening round of the 1A state playoffs.

A passed ball in the bottom of the seventh lifted the host Mountain Island Charter Raptors to a 3-2 win over the Comets.

North (8-5), playing as the No. 9 seed in the 1A Western Region, got the lead in the top of the first inning over Mountain Island (11-2) with two runs. Freshman Trey Gibson drove in Nik Melton and Clay Hatley with a two-out double.

The Raptors responded with a run in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly.

After the opening inning, North did not get a hit the rest of the inning. The Comets got Melton to third base in the top of the third with a walk and a stolen base. However, he was the last North runner to reach scoring position in the game.

Mountain Island tied the game in the third with a two-out rally, sparked by a Cole Hart double. A walk and an error scored Hart to tie the game, 2-2.

North Freshman Cole Smith started for the Comets and pitched six innings, striking out seven with two walks allowing two hits.

Luke Shaver took over for Smith in the seventh and struck out the first two batters. Hart kept the inning alive with a single and a stolen base. Two intentional walks loaded the bases for the Raptors when a passed ball scored the game-winning run for the hosts.

Comets head coach Will Davis called the result “a tough loss” for his team, adding his team fought hard.

“I wish the outcome would have been different, but we had a good season. The guys fought hard all season and battled through a lot of tough games,” Davis said.

North Stanly graduates seniors Cooper Hogan, Christian Barber and Mykel Laney from this year’s team which finished second in the Yadkin Valley Conference.