“To beat a team like Providence you almost have to play a perfect game, and we almost did that,”South head coach Dwayne Fink said after an 8-6 loss in the semifinal game at Newman Park. “We made some great plays in big situations to put us in position to win.”

That South (7-11) even played Monday, and went seven innings against one of Charlotte’s top teams, was improbable enough. Most expected West Rowan to send the Raiders home in Saturday’s opener. Instead, South romped to a 12-1 decision. After Providence (18-3) pounded out an 11-4 win against Davie County, the top team in the 4ACentral Piedmont Conference, CPC cellar-dweller South was supposed to be a mere formality heading into the evening’s title game.

South’s two-run loss looked even more impressive after Providence pounded out a 16-6, five-inning win in the title game against East Rowan.

“I don’t think anyone had given us much of a chance,”Fink said. “I told the players before the game most of that was from folks who haven’t even seen us play. Most of the folks we’ve had to play haven’t felt like we’re an easy win.”

With the exception of one mental mistake, South played fabulous defense. The Raiders turned three double plays to thwart Providence’s explosive offense.

With the exception of one pitch, South senior Matt Benfield left the Panthers guessing and his team right in the game.

The two mistakes South made proved huge, though. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Providence had runners on the corners with one out when Benfield faked a pickoff throw to third and whirled to first. Panther Jeff Springer took off for second and got caught in a rundown. Just before the Raiders could tag him out, Jason Birch feinted home, drew a throw to the plate and retreated for third. Both runners were safe at second and third and scored on Mark Schleicher’s single. A sacrifice fly one out later made it 5-3.

South fought back for three unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning, all coming with two outs on a trio of infield errors. Leading 6-5 in the bottom of the sixth, Benfield surrendered a leadoff walk. Providence head coach J.D. Colquitt called for a pinch hitter, and big left-hander Kelly Widman pulled a high fly ball over the right-field fence for a 7-6 lead.

“Decisions like that make me look pretty smart,”Colquitt said with a laugh. “I wasn’t expecting a two-run homer, but we felt pretty good that he’d be able to come in and hit the ball.”

Benfield’s only wish was that he hadn’t made it quite so easy to hit.

“It was a hanging curve. My one mistake,”Benfield said. “It was supposed to be down on the plate and break into him.”

Benfield allowed only two runs through the first four innings. A double play turned by RonnieShore and Greg Deal in the second inning helped him escape with only one run scoring. Another twin-killing in the third erased a lead-off double when Shore snared a hard liner and flipped to Deal for the force.

Providence grabbed a 2-0 lead in the fourth with an unearned run, but the damage again was limited. Scott Barton drilled a line drive toward third, but Craig Haas snared it and dove to the bag to beat Schleicher, who was doubled off.

“We made some awesome plays. The team was behind me,”Benfield said. “It feels good to be playing on a team that’s behind you 100 percent like this one is.”

And why wouldn’t the Raiders have backed up a performance like the one Benfield offered?

“I thought Benfield would have good success against this team,”Fink said. “Most high school teams as successful as Providence tee off on fastballs. Benfield changes speeds really well.

“All day long he did a great job of, if he missed, he missed low and was kicking up a little dirt,”Fink said. “His only mistake came to the fella that hit the home run, and if you can only think of one mistake a pitcher in high school makes, that’s pretty good.”

Providence also got an inspired mound effort from freshman Alex Clay, the No. 4 starter. South’s earliest threat came in the third, when Daniel Pinyan hit a liner to center with the bases loaded. Barton ended the inning with a fantastic diving catch that saved at least two runs from scoring.

In the fifth, Joel Reyes led off with a single and Dereck Efird walked. Benfield laid down a sacrifice bunt that skirted the first-base line and was safe when Tim Coffield slipped in the grass and missed the tag. Colquitt argued the call, but the play stood — bases loaded, no outs.

Shore grounded out up the middle to bring home the first run before a two-out single from Pinyan tied the game at 2-all.

Then came the fifth and sixth innings, with those two little mistakes that helped Providence advance.

“They played us very tough,”Colquitt said. “We had three close calls, several balls that were absolute rockets hit right at somebody. It could’ve been a lot easier, but they gave us everything we wanted.”

And South nearly got everything it wanted.