With the arrival of springtime, also comes a redemption story for the Rose baseball team, who are striving to compete for another state championship after coming up short last year to North Lincoln. While the team lost 12 seniors from the 2025 season, two new faces have not only earned their spot on the roster, but have made a major effect on the team’s success in the 2026 season. 

 

     Growing up in a very baseball-dominant community, it is not surprising that sophomores, Haitham and Laith Abulatifa, have been playing baseball since they were six years old. Whether it is Big Fry, Little League, or school ball, a little boy growing up in Greenville is destined to pick up a bat and gloves at some point in their childhood.

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     The twins have gotten a taste of success early on in their baseball careers as they dominated throughout their years of Greenville Little League.

 

     “We played on Remax and won two out of the four City Championships together,” Laith

said.  

 

     Their Little League success set the bar for the rest of their careers and has led to the boys becoming the only underclassman starting players on the baseball team; Laith playing as catcher, and when Haitham is not playing third base, he is on the mound pitching to his brother. 

 

     “They have different skill sets, and both of them are extremely good players,” head coach Ronald Vincent said. “They play hard, they really love baseball, they're [at the field] every day and do exactly what we want them to do.”

 

     With their new role on the varsity squad this year, comes more pressure as well as a new determination to be essential players for their team. 

 

     “This year we are playing for something…a state championship,” Haitham said.

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     The Rampants are currently 15-5 on the season and have had major wins thanks to the Abulatifa brothers. One pivotal moment for the team this year was beating Perquimans County with a walk-off grand slam in extra innings. The game-winning hit was by no other than Haitham. Just three days prior, Laith proved his spot in the lineup by hitting not one, but two home runs to secure the win against Clayton on March 3. 

 

     Not only have the two been leading the team statistically, but their leadership has shown off the field as well. 

 

     “They show leadership by doing what they're supposed to do every day, being on time, being at practice, and not taking the easy way out, but working, taking that extra step…that's very infectious on the team,” Vincent said.

 

     As younger players, the boys have learned much from their older teammates, but have also developed their own perspectives on how to secure success on and off the field. 

 

     “[I try to] compete, have fun, and not get too high or low with my emotions,” Haitham said. 

 

     Throughout the highs and lows that the rest of the season holds, the Abulitifa twins are aiming to finish with a long playoff run with each other by their side. 

 

     “We hold each other accountable, try to stay the same mentally and get after it every day,” Laith said.