CARY, N.C. - Liam Norris hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning to lead Green Hope High School (Cary, N.C.) to a 1-0 victory over John Curtis Christian School (River Ridge, La.) and a berth the championship game of the 2018 USA Baseball National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and the Town of Cary.
Green Hope is the first school from the state of North Carolina to advance to the NHSI final in the event's seven-year history.
With both teams in a stalemate entering the 11th inning, Connor Knapp picked up a lead-off single to centerfield before advancing into scoring position on a routine ground-out, bringing Norris to the plate. Facing a 1-1 count, Norris laced a ball to centerfield to score Knapp from second base and secure their spot in the championship game.
"I decided to put something in play and see what happened," said Norris, on his mentality going into that final at-bat. "I tried to put it back up the middle. That's what ended up happening."
Green Hope pitching was solid once again during the NHSI. Starting pitcher Angel Collazo kept the Patriots at bay for 3.2 innings before Joey Hegeman came in and shut down the John Curtis offense. Hegeman was stellar in relief, pitching 7.1 innings of scoreless baseball, striking out three and tallying just 77 total pitches in the victory.
"The first strike I threw, I just thought, 'I got this. There's no one else better who could be out here'," said Hegeman.
John Curtis' offense tallied seven hits through the course of the game but could not cross the plate. Starting pitcher Dax Ford was masterful in his first start of the tournament, striking out eight batters in seven innings in a no-decision. Logan Stevens was tagged with the loss, giving up the one run.
Green Hope will face the defending champions, Orange Lutheran High School (Orange, Calif.), in the 2018 NHSI final. The game will begin at 12:15 p.m. ET on Coleman Field. The game will be streamed on Facebook Live (USA Baseball), MLB.com and USABaseball.com.
John Curtis will face Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) in a consolation game at 8:30 a.m. ET on Field 2.
