SANFORD - The Chatlee Invitational baseball tournament wound up being just what three Tri-Nine Conference teams needed to gain confidence entering the remainder of this season.

Cary, Green Hope and Middle Creek combined to go 8-1 during the tournament, which was played on the outskirts of Sanford at Southern Lee High School and Grace Christian School.

Friday's games were rained out, which meant all teams played two Saturday games.

The tournament served as a repeat Tri-Nine Conference challenge during spring break, as all three teams rotated between tournament opponents Southern Lee, Grace Christian and Surry Central.

Cary: The Imps went 2-1 in the Chatlee, including a 15-4 blowout of Southern Lee in five innings to end the tournament on a high note. Since coach Brian Yerger took over the team midseason, the Imps are 4-4 after a 0-10 start.

Cary also defeated Grace Christian 14-3 in five innings.

"Even with the previous coach, [the players] were close to turning that corner," Yerger said. "With some continuity and everything settling down, they're responding very well."

The team had three players make the all-tournament team: first baseman Matt Alexander, catcher Tyler Lapp and third baseman David O'Donnell.

"Those three combined are a big reason why we had two victories this weekend," Yerger said.

Alexander had a grand slam and five RBIs in the Southern Lee game, while Lapp homered twice against Grace.

Mathematically eliminated from the playoff chase, Cary (4-12, 2-10) has excelled in the role of spoiler in recent weeks with wins against powers like Athens Drive, Apex and Southern Lee.

"The Tri-Nine, to me, is the toughest conference in the state. Top to bottom, there's no easy outs and we don't want to be an easy out either," Yerger said. "We've proven that people got to start thinking about who they're pitching against us instead of looking at us as a gimme win."

Green Hope: The Falcons (11-7, 7-5) - the only Tri-Nine participant in the Chatlee that currently sits in playoff position - did nothing to hurt their status by going a perfect 3-0 in the tournament.

Green Hope defeated Surry Central 7-2, and then topped Grace Christian 15-1, before closing the tournament with an 8-1 win late Saturday night against Southern Lee.

"These were big wins because there are at-large bids, too," Falcons coach Mike Miragliuolo said. "For some reason if [the rest of the season] doesn't go well these can be big down the road."

Miragliuolo said that the tournament provided the Falcons an opportunity to see different nonconference opponents than in previous spring breaks.

"It was frustrating for us to play Apex, Fuquay and Leesville Road - teams that we play all the time," Miragliuolo said. "They promised us that we'd see some teams we hadn't played."

Jonathan Grudee, Will Gilbert, Thomas Yoder and Anthony Colantino were named the all-tournament team.

Middle Creek: The Mustangs entered the tournament riding a three-game win streak. They doubled that with a 9-3 decision against Southern Lee, a 13-2 win against Surry Central and an 11-1 defeat of Grace.

"We're catching a little rhythm now," Middle Creek coach Jeremy Thompson said. "Bottom line is, we thought that our individual parts were better than our record showed before the streak. And now we're up to about .500."

Seth Watkins was recognized as his team's MVP of the tournament, while Cory Walker and Zack Cofone also made the all-tournament list.

The Mustangs (9-10, 4-8) are in an unusual late-season situation where they must win out to have a shot at an automatic or wild-card bid to the state playoffs.

"We've got four conference games left - we feel we can win four conference games. We feel if we do that we got a shot at the playoffs. If we get to the playoffs, we feel we can beat anyone," Thompson said. "We're very confident in our abilities, now we'll just have to keep it going and show it on the field."