HP Christian rallies past Concord Academy
By GREER SMITH ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER Mar 30, 2021 Updated 4 hrs ago
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HIGH POINT — Down three runs with two innings left in regulation, High Point Christian squeezed out a win over Concord Academy on Tuesday.
HPCA (9-3) scored two in the sixth to trail by one heading into the seventh. A pitch that eluded the Concord catcher allowed pinch runner Luke Homol to score the tying run and Carter Bass to reach third.
That brought up Eli Crump, who laid down a slow-rolling bunt just a few feet toward first. Bass, running on contact, sped down the line and slid across the plate just ahead of the throw for the 4-3 victory at the Oak View Baptist Church field.
“A soon as I saw the ball down, as soon as the ball hit the bat, I was making sure I was getting home,” Bass said. “We work on that play every practice. We get the thunder stick out, the skinny bat, and make sure we put our bunts down.”
Cougar head coach Cory Gesell called for the bunt play when Bass got on third.
“We practice that all the time,” Gesell said. “Eli’s a senior who has done it before and has great bat control. We trusted him to get it down on the ground. Carter is another senior. They’ve been in this situation before and they just executed perfectly.”
The rally represented a complete shift compared to HPCA only mustering a couple of hits and getting just a couple of runners as far as third over the first five innings against Concord starter Tanner Lyne.
Instead, Lyne, who went the distance, gave up four hits in the final two innings and wound up the loser. He struck out five and walked three.
“Their pitcher was excellent,” Gesell said. “They made a mistake or two in the field, but the pitcher was really tough. He had a good fastball and his breaking ball was tough as well. We tell our guys to keep plugging away and keep battling, try to take advantage of any mistake the other team makes. We were able to do that this time.”
Sam Beck, who came on in the fifth and held Concord (2-5) scoreless for three innings, was the winner. He allowed two hits, struck out five and walked none.
A two-base throwing error on Sam Sapp’s grounder helped put the Cougars in business in the sixth. Bryson King laced a double that scored Sapp from third. Two batters later, Mitch Adams stroked a single that scored King to make the deficit 3-2.
Beck singled to lead off the Cougar seventh. Homol was brought in to run, stole second and went to third on Bass’ infield hit. That was followed by the pitch that went to the backstop, allowing Homol to score and putting Bass on third.
“We didn’t have much energy and part of that is you are not hitting the ball well because the pitcher is doing a great job,” Gesell said. “We preach all the time it takes 21 outs, and we just keep plugging away. I’m proud of the guys.”
Concord scored all of its runs off Sapp, who started, pitched the first four innings, struck out six, allowed three hits and walked two.
The first two runs came in the second. Sapp hit the first two batters and an error on a routine grounder that could have led to the third out of the inning instead allowed another runner and loaded the bases. A wild pitch resulted in Concord tallying its first run, and a single drove in the second.
Concord added a run in the fourth on two singles, a steal of third and an RBI groundout.
“We stress that we can’t let people on with walks or hit batters,” Gesell said. “Sometimes we do that and when we do that, it costs us runs. If we don’t put people on and throw strikes, we can do a decent job on the mound.”
Bass, who went 2 for 3, was the only Cougar with more than one hit.
“We came out a little flat but eventually we got the ball rolling,” Bass said.
HPCA plays host to the Concord Royals, a team of homeschoolers, on Friday.
gsmith@hpenews.com | 336-888-3519 | @HPEGreer
By GREER SMITH ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER Mar 30, 2021 Updated 4 hrs ago
HIGH POINT — Down three runs with two innings left in regulation, High Point Christian squeezed out a win over Concord Academy on Tuesday.
HPCA (9-3) scored two in the sixth to trail by one heading into the seventh. A pitch that eluded the Concord catcher allowed pinch runner Luke Homol to score the tying run and Carter Bass to reach third.
That brought up Eli Crump, who laid down a slow-rolling bunt just a few feet toward first. Bass, running on contact, sped down the line and slid across the plate just ahead of the throw for the 4-3 victory at the Oak View Baptist Church field.
“A soon as I saw the ball down, as soon as the ball hit the bat, I was making sure I was getting home,” Bass said. “We work on that play every practice. We get the thunder stick out, the skinny bat, and make sure we put our bunts down.”
Cougar head coach Cory Gesell called for the bunt play when Bass got on third.
“We practice that all the time,” Gesell said. “Eli’s a senior who has done it before and has great bat control. We trusted him to get it down on the ground. Carter is another senior. They’ve been in this situation before and they just executed perfectly.”
The rally represented a complete shift compared to HPCA only mustering a couple of hits and getting just a couple of runners as far as third over the first five innings against Concord starter Tanner Lyne.
Instead, Lyne, who went the distance, gave up four hits in the final two innings and wound up the loser. He struck out five and walked three.
“Their pitcher was excellent,” Gesell said. “They made a mistake or two in the field, but the pitcher was really tough. He had a good fastball and his breaking ball was tough as well. We tell our guys to keep plugging away and keep battling, try to take advantage of any mistake the other team makes. We were able to do that this time.”
Sam Beck, who came on in the fifth and held Concord (2-5) scoreless for three innings, was the winner. He allowed two hits, struck out five and walked none.
A two-base throwing error on Sam Sapp’s grounder helped put the Cougars in business in the sixth. Bryson King laced a double that scored Sapp from third. Two batters later, Mitch Adams stroked a single that scored King to make the deficit 3-2.
Beck singled to lead off the Cougar seventh. Homol was brought in to run, stole second and went to third on Bass’ infield hit. That was followed by the pitch that went to the backstop, allowing Homol to score and putting Bass on third.
“We didn’t have much energy and part of that is you are not hitting the ball well because the pitcher is doing a great job,” Gesell said. “We preach all the time it takes 21 outs, and we just keep plugging away. I’m proud of the guys.”
Concord scored all of its runs off Sapp, who started, pitched the first four innings, struck out six, allowed three hits and walked two.
The first two runs came in the second. Sapp hit the first two batters and an error on a routine grounder that could have led to the third out of the inning instead allowed another runner and loaded the bases. A wild pitch resulted in Concord tallying its first run, and a single drove in the second.
Concord added a run in the fourth on two singles, a steal of third and an RBI groundout.
“We stress that we can’t let people on with walks or hit batters,” Gesell said. “Sometimes we do that and when we do that, it costs us runs. If we don’t put people on and throw strikes, we can do a decent job on the mound.”
Bass, who went 2 for 3, was the only Cougar with more than one hit.
“We came out a little flat but eventually we got the ball rolling,” Bass said.
HPCA plays host to the Concord Royals, a team of homeschoolers, on Friday.
gsmith@hpenews.com | 336-888-3519 | @HPEGreer
