To win in baseball, you need hitting, pitching and defense.

South Brunswick got all three. Pasquotank had two. The result was a 4-0 Cougars win in the first round of the 2A state playoffs on Friday.

Brett A. Clark/Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

Pasquotank first baseman Weston Godfrey gets the ball a little late to get South Brunswick?s Ellison Brothers during the first round of the 2A state playoffs at Pasquotank County High School on Friday.

Brett A. Clark/Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

Pasquotank?s Anthony Richie heads to third with a fourth-inning triple.

Brett A. Clark/Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

Pasquotank?s Andrew Womble pitches against South Brunswick.

Both teams brought good pitching and defense, but South Brunswick got the key hits, while Pasquotank could not get its offense jump started.

"We had runners in scoring position early, we just didn't get the hits when we needed them," Pasquotank coach Doug Leary said. "That was pretty much the difference in the ball game."

The game was scoreless through four innings with neither team really threatening. The Panthers did advance two runners to third base, but both came with two outs and that was as close as they came to scoring.

The Cougars (12-10) broke through in the top of the fifth inning, scoring three times. A controversial call at first base fueled the rally, putting runners at first and second with one out.

Panthers shortstop Taylor Mosley fielded a hit by Cody Piette, but his throw to first was low. First baseman Weston Godfrey bobbled the throw, but appeared to come up with the ball before Piette arrived. The umpire called Piette safe, bringing up Nick Spell, who doubled into the gap in left center, plating the game's first run.

Pasquotank starter Andrew Womble struck out the next batter, which would have ended the inning if not for the error. Eliott Swain made the Panthers pay, drilling a two-run single for a 3-0 South Brunswick lead.

The Cougars' dugout, already a vocal group, got even louder with the lead and South Brunswick pitchers fed off that energy. Starter Jake Morehouse finished his night with a 1-2-3 fifth, then gave way to Ryan Waldrop. The Cougar reliever worked two hitless innings, striking out four, to close out the game.

"Their pitchers did a good job of throwing strikes and their fielders did a good job of making plays. They made every play," Leary said.

Pasquotank (10-11) managed just two hits and five base runners the entire game.

Womble singled in the first inning and Anthony Richie laced a two-out triple to the opposite field in the fourth. Richie was stranded when Cougar shortstop Edward McNeill made a fine play to his left on a sharply hit ball up the middle by Justin Smith. McNeill threw out Smith for the third out of the inning, ending the Panthers last real scoring opportunity.

McNeill followed his defensive gem with an RBI double in the seventh to round out the scoring.

Womble kept Pasquotank in the game on the mound. He struck out 10 Cougars and allowed just two earned runs. He walked five, one intentionally, and hit one batter. But it was the extra out in the fifth inning that ended up sinking the Panthers.

"He did do a good job and we played some good defense behind him," Leary said. "The only times he really got hurt were when he gave up a leadoff walk. I think a couple of the hits he gave up were on 0-2 pitches. Other than that, he did a great job up there. He pitched well enough to win."