Wesleyan baseball falls 1-0 against Charlotte Christian
Michael Lindsay | Enterprise Sports Writer
HIGH POINT — A play made here or an opportunity missed there often determines tight games between good teams like Wesleyan Christian and Charlotte Christian.
This time was no different.
The Trojans narrowly missed out on scoring a run in the bottom of the fifth and the Knights broke through with the lone run of the game in the top of the sixth to win Tuesday’s clash of baseball powers 1-0 at Wesleyan’s baseball field.
Before the game, Wesleyan honored Charlotte Christian and longtime coach Greg Simmons, who recently died of lung cancer, with a flag it flew in Simmons’ memory.
“Iron sharpens iron,” Wesleyan coach Mo Blakeney said. “I made this schedule extremely hard because I want to challenge our guys, because we feel like we have one of the better teams in the state. This one game isn’t going to deter us from that — that’s a good ballclub over there.
“Would we have liked to have won this one tonight? Sure. Losing this one 1-0 — we’re right there in the ballgame. So, we’re going to build from it. It’s the beginning of the year, so we’re going to continue to get more at-bats under our belt and keep battling. Because we know, at the end of the day, we’ll be there at the end.”
All three pitchers were outstanding — Charlotte Christian’s Wesley Jones pitched a complete game, striking out 11 while allowing just one hit, no walks and two hit batters; Wesleyan’s Sam Cozart struck out 11 while scattering three hits and allowing no walks and one hit better in six innings, and Hudson Lance struck out all three batters he faced.
The Trojans (3-1), perennial contenders in the NCISAA 4A, had a strong opportunity to grab the lead in the fifth when Grayson McDonald one-hopped a double off the center-field wall and moved to third when Will Papciak laid down a sacrifice bunt.
But a groundout and a strikeout ended the threat without a run.
In the next half-inning, the Knights (6-4) reached on an infield single between first and second, advanced to second on a pitch to the backstop and beat out a close play at third following an infield grounder.
With runners on first and third and one out, Charlotte Christian plated a run on a bloop single into shallow right field by Drew Beard.
“Like I told the guys earlier — the team that makes the least mistakes is going to win the game. And that’s what happened,” Blakeney said. “We had a situation with a runner at third base and less than two outs. And we just didn’t get the job done. I think if we get the job done there, it might be a different ballgame.”
The one run was enough for the Knights — the reigning 4A state champions and familiar foes for Wesleyan late in the state playoffs. Charlotte Christian with just three hits, while the Trojans had just one. Just five runners combined reached scoring position — and just three after a somewhat eventful first inning.
Wesleyan plays again today at Providence Day.
mlindsay@hpenews.com | @HPEmichael
CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN 1, WESLEYAN CHRISTIAN 0
CC 000 001 0 – 1 3 0
WCA 000 000 0 – 0 1 1
WP – Jones (7IP, 11K, 0BB, 1H, 0R, 2HBP); LP – Cozart (6IP, 11K, 0BB, 3H, 1R, WP, HBP)
Leading hitters: CC – Beard (1-3, RBI), Davis (2-3); WCA – McDonald (1-3, 2B)
Michael Lindsay | Enterprise Sports Writer
HIGH POINT — A play made here or an opportunity missed there often determines tight games between good teams like Wesleyan Christian and Charlotte Christian.
This time was no different.
The Trojans narrowly missed out on scoring a run in the bottom of the fifth and the Knights broke through with the lone run of the game in the top of the sixth to win Tuesday’s clash of baseball powers 1-0 at Wesleyan’s baseball field.
Before the game, Wesleyan honored Charlotte Christian and longtime coach Greg Simmons, who recently died of lung cancer, with a flag it flew in Simmons’ memory.
“Iron sharpens iron,” Wesleyan coach Mo Blakeney said. “I made this schedule extremely hard because I want to challenge our guys, because we feel like we have one of the better teams in the state. This one game isn’t going to deter us from that — that’s a good ballclub over there.
“Would we have liked to have won this one tonight? Sure. Losing this one 1-0 — we’re right there in the ballgame. So, we’re going to build from it. It’s the beginning of the year, so we’re going to continue to get more at-bats under our belt and keep battling. Because we know, at the end of the day, we’ll be there at the end.”
All three pitchers were outstanding — Charlotte Christian’s Wesley Jones pitched a complete game, striking out 11 while allowing just one hit, no walks and two hit batters; Wesleyan’s Sam Cozart struck out 11 while scattering three hits and allowing no walks and one hit better in six innings, and Hudson Lance struck out all three batters he faced.
The Trojans (3-1), perennial contenders in the NCISAA 4A, had a strong opportunity to grab the lead in the fifth when Grayson McDonald one-hopped a double off the center-field wall and moved to third when Will Papciak laid down a sacrifice bunt.
But a groundout and a strikeout ended the threat without a run.
In the next half-inning, the Knights (6-4) reached on an infield single between first and second, advanced to second on a pitch to the backstop and beat out a close play at third following an infield grounder.
With runners on first and third and one out, Charlotte Christian plated a run on a bloop single into shallow right field by Drew Beard.
“Like I told the guys earlier — the team that makes the least mistakes is going to win the game. And that’s what happened,” Blakeney said. “We had a situation with a runner at third base and less than two outs. And we just didn’t get the job done. I think if we get the job done there, it might be a different ballgame.”
The one run was enough for the Knights — the reigning 4A state champions and familiar foes for Wesleyan late in the state playoffs. Charlotte Christian with just three hits, while the Trojans had just one. Just five runners combined reached scoring position — and just three after a somewhat eventful first inning.
Wesleyan plays again today at Providence Day.
mlindsay@hpenews.com | @HPEmichael
CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN 1, WESLEYAN CHRISTIAN 0
CC 000 001 0 – 1 3 0
WCA 000 000 0 – 0 1 1
WP – Jones (7IP, 11K, 0BB, 1H, 0R, 2HBP); LP – Cozart (6IP, 11K, 0BB, 3H, 1R, WP, HBP)
Leading hitters: CC – Beard (1-3, RBI), Davis (2-3); WCA – McDonald (1-3, 2B)
