**********Way too many connections to let this one go untouched….Southern Lee just won their First-Ever State Championship, in ANY sport, in school history…Southern Lee was in the Southeast Guilford Easter Baseball Tournament, back in April, and the Southern Lee Cavaliers won The 2026 RockingHoppers High School Baseball Spring Tournament…CLICK HERE and you might want to go back and listen to some of the Championship Game from Saturday April 4, when Southern Lee knocked off Wake Forest for the Title, on GreensboroSports Radio…And the thread runs SO MUCH deeper, don’t you know, like Robbie Cano….
Southern Lee is coached by Tommy Harrington, the father of Thomas Harrington, a former Greensboro Grasshoppers’ pitcher from the 2023 season…Thomas Harrington pitched for the Greensboro Grasshoppers during his rapid ascent through the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system, primarily making an impact here during the 2023 season. As a highly touted right-handed starting pitcher, Harrington’s time in Greensboro served as a critical launching pad for his professional career, which has since seen him debut at the Major League level…Tommy Harrington, the father of Thomas Harrington, and a BIG Greensboro connection there…
Plus Thomas Harrington’s brother Ben Harrington is a current sophomore, and one of the top pitchers on this Southern Lee Cavalier State Champion Baseball Team…Cavalier ace Ben Harrington, got the victory in Game One of the NCHSAA 6-A Baseball Championship Series, throwing 116 pitches…”That’s Ben Harrington,” Coach Harrington said. “I’m going to say it: he’s just a tough competitor. He had a few innings where he led off the innings with a with a walk [but] battled through it”…..**********
So, there you have it, and we also have more on the Southern Lee Cavaliers’ State Baseball Title, and it comes from the Lee County Schools…..
from the Lee County Schools website, and CLICK HERE for photos and more info…..
BURLINGTON, NC – When Game 2 of the 2026 6A State Championship Series slipped through their fingers with an 8-7 walk off win for their opponents to even the series, the Southern Lee Cavaliers had about three hours to regroup before a winner-take-all Game 3 at Burlington Athletic Stadium late Saturday night.
Numerous questions filled the minds of coaches and fans alike, chief among them – who would be the starting pitcher for this decisive game? With a 120-pitch limit for the weekend series and his complete game, 116 pitch performance in Game 1, Cavalier ace Ben Harrington was essentially eliminated. Mitchel Bryant had pitched into the fifth in Game 2, keeping the Cavs in the game until they could build a 7-4 lead in the fifth – so he had used 92 of his 120 pitches.
With senior Christian Cox unavailable for Game 3, Cavs Head Coach Tommy Harrington turned to junior Rylan Stephens who had only pitched in six games for the Cavs this year. In fact, Stephens had only thrown more than three innings for the team once this season – his lone victory on the mound against Jordan-Matthews on April 8th where he went 6 innings and struck out 14 in a dominant 10-0 win for Southern.
“We talked to the kids the other day about the State Championship being a three game series. We told them someone in this dugout is going to have to step their game up and Rylan Stephens was that guy tonight,” said Tommy Harrington. “To come out here and throw a two-hitter and only give up two runs, which were both complements of some errors we had. What a performance! One for the record books.”
Stephens struck out the first two batters he faced before South Caldwell’s Kori McCall reached on an error off a hard hit ball in the top of the first. Then Spartans catcher JP Smith battled to draw a full count walk and put two on with two out.
The Spartans tried to generate some offense with a double steal attempt, and when the throw to third trying to pick off the lead runner and end the threat sailed down the third baseline, McCall plated the game’s first run. As the Cavs scrambled to get the ball back into the infield and nab Smith at third, the throw sailed wide of third base and kicked hard to the right of catcher Luke Waters all the way to the backstop. That gave Smith a chance to scamper home and handed the Spartans a 2-0 lead.
“I think the season we’ve had, the tough games we’ve played all year, it prepared us,” said Tommy Harrington. “Our kids didn’t panic. They just kept fighting.”
Stephens said his mission was clear heading out on the mound, “Throw strikes, get them out, and let my team work,” he explained. “I trusted the bats behind me and I had all the confidence in the world that I was the best pitcher on the field tonight and that I was going to be the best all night.”
The Cavs responded to their early hole right away grabbing the lead 3-2 when Gavin Shaffer tripled to put the first two runs on the board and then swiped home when the ball got away from the Spartans on a wild pitch. Shaffer was 3 for 3 in the final game of the season,
Southern batters battled all game, grinding out at bats and keeping the pressure on the Spartans. Cavs drew eight walks in five innings and amassed eight hits to keep the
bases full most of the night.
The game’s final blow came in the bottom of the fifth inning with an 11-2 lead when Max Andrew Searcy decided to attempt a steal of home while Shaffer who had just drawn a walk sauntered down to first and South Caldwell lobbed the ball back to the pitcher.
“I was watching them the whole time. He was lobbing the ball back to the pitcher who was standing behind the mound. They weren’t paying much attention,” said Searcy with a sly grin. “I didn’t say anything to Coach. I had to make it happen. I was ready to put them away. Ready to become a State Champion. So I took what they gave us, slid into home and here we are – State Champions.”
As the dust cleared at home plate, chaos erupted out of the Southern Lee dugout along the third baseline and teammates swarmed Searcy at the plate. A pair of Cavs chased Coach Harrington, dousing him with the proverbial water cooler bath on the third baseline before the team dogpiled one another in celebration behind the mound.
Coach Harrington beamed with pride, “It’s been like that the whole season. The boys have put in a lot of hard work.Working through the fall – working with snow on the ground – kids never missing practice. All the hard work showed. It was just a total team effort. Everyone on this team contributed to this championship.”