Cyclones fall victim to Northwood no-no
By Jimmy LewisStaff Writer
To say that Fayetteville Northwood Temple freshman right-hander Bradley Wilson enjoys pitching on the Community Christian School baseball diamond ranks as an understatement.
As a seventh-grader making his debut on the varsity level, Wilson came to Packhouse Road and struck out 13 batters in a five-inning, two-hit performance.
Two years later at the same locale, no Cyclone could hit safely against his overpowering fastball Friday.
Only a passed ball on a dropped third strike spoiled a perfect game, as the 6-foot-2 Wilson struck out 12 CCS batters in an 11-0, six-inning Northwood Temple win. Easily mistaken for an upperclassman, Wilson’s showing boosted the Eagles to 4-5 overall and 1-2 within the 1-A Carolina Christian Conference. CCS, which put the ball in play on six of its final nine outs, fell to 1-10 and 0-2 in the league.
"I remember that like it was yesterday,” Northwood Temple head coach David Huff said of Wilson’s previous gem against the Cyclones. "And I knew right then. I said, man he is going to be a sick (dominating) individual by the time he gets to be a junior or senior. But look where he’s at now; he’s probably throwing around 85 (miles per hour).”
That velocity was more than enough to tame the CCS order, which succumbed to five consecutive strikeouts to open play and nine of 10 in the first three innings. Wilson, who needed just 74 pitches to complete his first career no-hitter, actually struck out four batters in the third after freshman Chandler Conway reached on a dropped third strike. However, Wilson responded by simply mowing down the next three Cyclones to leave Conway stranded at second following a stolen base. He consistently stayed ahead in the count and painted the corners for the home-plate umpire — although he acknowledged the thought of a no-hitter never crossed his mind.
"It felt good,” Wilson said. "I felt like I was hitting the strike zone pretty good.”
His counterpart in CCS eighth grader Thomas Lane retired the side in order in the top of the first. But Northwood began getting runners on the basepaths in the second inning — with disastrous results for the Cyclones. Third baseman Denzel Brown launched an RBI double to left field that scored Wilson, who reached on a leadoff walk. Brown quickly stole third and trotted home easily on a Cyclones throwing error.
An unprepared Cyclones defense saw Northwood swipe seven bases. Leadoff hitter Noah Wingate was 2 for 4 with three stolen bases and a pair of runs scored.
"I was more concerned about that than I was the no-hit part,” CCS head coach Andy Jackson reviewed. "The pitcher was dominant; he was really on today, but those other things — them stealing on us and we had about four parts that weren’t good. We didn’t hold well as a pitcher; our first baseman wasn’t telling the catcher he was gone and our catcher didn’t react well. Then, we didn’t cover well. That’s all things we can fix. Sometimes, the pitcher is just better than you are and, today, he was. But the other things are what concern me.”
Three consecutive doubles in the third — including a pair of run-producing knocks from Chance Chavis and Wilson — made it 4-0 Northwood. A four-run fifth was highlighted by an inside-the-park home run from Chavis after the ball meandered all the way to the outfield fence. CCS relief pitching faltered in the sixth after Lane departed, yielding three runs on just one hit. Wild pitches, walks, hit batsmen and a run-scoring balk surfaced.
Lane, who stood in sharp contrast to Wilson’s fiery delivery, allowed eight hits in five innings with a bevy of off-speed offerings. He struck out seven and walked three, with seven of his eight runs being earned.
Wingate, Chavis and Wilson all had two hits for Northwood.
CCS returns to play Tuesday at North East Carolina Prep, but Jackson will have to return from being no-hit for the first time in his coaching career.
"That’s the first time I’ve had to face that,” he said. "So we’ll just get back in the cage and keep swinging.”
jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter: @JimmyLewisWT
By Jimmy LewisStaff Writer
To say that Fayetteville Northwood Temple freshman right-hander Bradley Wilson enjoys pitching on the Community Christian School baseball diamond ranks as an understatement.
As a seventh-grader making his debut on the varsity level, Wilson came to Packhouse Road and struck out 13 batters in a five-inning, two-hit performance.
Two years later at the same locale, no Cyclone could hit safely against his overpowering fastball Friday.
Only a passed ball on a dropped third strike spoiled a perfect game, as the 6-foot-2 Wilson struck out 12 CCS batters in an 11-0, six-inning Northwood Temple win. Easily mistaken for an upperclassman, Wilson’s showing boosted the Eagles to 4-5 overall and 1-2 within the 1-A Carolina Christian Conference. CCS, which put the ball in play on six of its final nine outs, fell to 1-10 and 0-2 in the league.
"I remember that like it was yesterday,” Northwood Temple head coach David Huff said of Wilson’s previous gem against the Cyclones. "And I knew right then. I said, man he is going to be a sick (dominating) individual by the time he gets to be a junior or senior. But look where he’s at now; he’s probably throwing around 85 (miles per hour).”
That velocity was more than enough to tame the CCS order, which succumbed to five consecutive strikeouts to open play and nine of 10 in the first three innings. Wilson, who needed just 74 pitches to complete his first career no-hitter, actually struck out four batters in the third after freshman Chandler Conway reached on a dropped third strike. However, Wilson responded by simply mowing down the next three Cyclones to leave Conway stranded at second following a stolen base. He consistently stayed ahead in the count and painted the corners for the home-plate umpire — although he acknowledged the thought of a no-hitter never crossed his mind.
"It felt good,” Wilson said. "I felt like I was hitting the strike zone pretty good.”
His counterpart in CCS eighth grader Thomas Lane retired the side in order in the top of the first. But Northwood began getting runners on the basepaths in the second inning — with disastrous results for the Cyclones. Third baseman Denzel Brown launched an RBI double to left field that scored Wilson, who reached on a leadoff walk. Brown quickly stole third and trotted home easily on a Cyclones throwing error.
An unprepared Cyclones defense saw Northwood swipe seven bases. Leadoff hitter Noah Wingate was 2 for 4 with three stolen bases and a pair of runs scored.
"I was more concerned about that than I was the no-hit part,” CCS head coach Andy Jackson reviewed. "The pitcher was dominant; he was really on today, but those other things — them stealing on us and we had about four parts that weren’t good. We didn’t hold well as a pitcher; our first baseman wasn’t telling the catcher he was gone and our catcher didn’t react well. Then, we didn’t cover well. That’s all things we can fix. Sometimes, the pitcher is just better than you are and, today, he was. But the other things are what concern me.”
Three consecutive doubles in the third — including a pair of run-producing knocks from Chance Chavis and Wilson — made it 4-0 Northwood. A four-run fifth was highlighted by an inside-the-park home run from Chavis after the ball meandered all the way to the outfield fence. CCS relief pitching faltered in the sixth after Lane departed, yielding three runs on just one hit. Wild pitches, walks, hit batsmen and a run-scoring balk surfaced.
Lane, who stood in sharp contrast to Wilson’s fiery delivery, allowed eight hits in five innings with a bevy of off-speed offerings. He struck out seven and walked three, with seven of his eight runs being earned.
Wingate, Chavis and Wilson all had two hits for Northwood.
CCS returns to play Tuesday at North East Carolina Prep, but Jackson will have to return from being no-hit for the first time in his coaching career.
"That’s the first time I’ve had to face that,” he said. "So we’ll just get back in the cage and keep swinging.”
jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter: @JimmyLewisWT
