HOLLY SPRINGS — Holly Springs freshman left-hander Carlos Rodon can’t lose even though he has to face upperclassmen every time he takes the mound for the Golden Hawks.

“For me, it’s a win-win situation,” he explained. “Because if I throw a strike, they’re supposed to hit it because I’m a freshman and they’re a junior or a senior. If I throw it they’re supposed to hit. But if I strike ‘em out, I’m still a winner. So, either way I win.”

Rodon, who leads the Golden Hawks’ pitching staff in strikeouts with 44, and Holly Springs have been winning more often than not this spring. They entered this week on the doorstep of the young program’s first playoff appearance at 12-9 overall, 7-6 in the Greater Neuse River conference.

Holly Springs High opened in 2006 with just freshmen and sophomores and the school does not yet have a senior class. So, Golden Hawks coach Rod Whitesell relies on youth and patience.

“If you’ve got a junior and senior class you don’t have to explain some of the little things,” Whitesell said. “So, a lot of the little things you just have to make sure you cover.”

The freshmen, sophomores and juniors who Whitesell does have looked wise beyond their years on Thursday night, as they pounded conference foe Knightdale 15-1 in five innings.

Freshman right hander Justin Manning got the win to improve to 5-4 on the season. His classmate Kyle Byrd, the Golden Hawks’ RBI leader with 15, went 2-for-3. Sophomore Chris Tomlinson was 3-for-3 and junior Ethan Nunn had two hits.

There were conference games remaining on Monday evening throughout the Greater Neuse, but the fourth-place Golden Hawks have likely done enough to grab one of five postseason spots available to the conference.

Whitesell said the players have really begun to believe that they can win despite their youth.

“I talked to all of them and I just basically said you wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you could be successful,” Whitesell said. “So, just go out and compete. To me, I don’t think there’s been a day this year when any of them have been overwhelmed by anything. From day one, they just went out and competed and that’s all you can ask.”

There were paper signs taped along the fence inside the Holly Springs dugout Thursday night that read, “12 — Find a Way!” Whitesell said they’ve had similar signs for every game since the Golden Hawks went on a small losing streak earlier in the season and were stuck on eight wins. Thursday night they were looking for win number 12, and they got it emphatically.

Nunn said finding a way means doing whatever it takes to make good things happen for the team. He was around for some lean times last year during the program’s first season.

“It was rough last year,” he said. “I was ready to see this year because I knew we were getting a lot of talent from the younger kids. It turned out to be good. I hope it keeps improving, which it should. I’m ready for next year just to see how much better we can do and keep improving every year.”