Wildcats break free against Forsyth Country Day
By MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER Apr 22, 2022 Updated Apr 23, 2022
HIGH POINT — Westchester Country Day turned a spark into an explosion.
The Wildcats, after limiting the damage in the top half, scored nine runs in the bottom of the fifth to race past Forsyth Country Day 10-1 in PTAC baseball Friday evening in their hall of fame game at Westchester.
“We talked about it before and we had to change our approach just a little bit,” Westchester coach Rob Woodall said. “We were swinging at bad pitches, and that’s not what we do. We’re aggressive with stuff in our zone.
“They’re young kids, so it takes a little while to figure that kind of stuff out. But once they do, we’ve got some guys who can do good things with a baseball bat. That’s what we like to see.”
Caleb Hammond had a home run and four RBIs to lead the Wildcats (9-4 overall, 2-3 conference), who have won three in a row following a three-game skid. Carson Daniel added a double and two RBIs.
Ryan Engle had a single and two RBIs and Tate Vogler chipped in two hits as Westchester tallied six of its seven hits for the game during a 14-batter fifth inning in which it took full control of a tight game.
“It’s huge,” said Hammond, a junior outfielder/pitcher. “It’s our first sweep of the year. I think our pitchers threw really well, and I’m glad our hitting came through.
“I really think we started to see the pitcher more. He was definitely a funky guy, and we started understanding more what he was trying to do. And we started to pounce on him.”
The Wildcats scored a run in the second on a bases-loaded walk to Hammond, but the Furies (4-10, 0-6) answered with a two-out single to even the game 1-1 in the top of the fifth.
Forsyth could’ve added at least one more when, with runners on second and third and one out, a pitch went to the backstop. The Furies runner was called out at home, and a minor scuffle broke out following the play.
Order was quickly restored and play continued without incident. But Westchester escaped only allowing one run as Vogler — who was perfect through four innings — got a strikeout to end the inning.
Then, the Wildcats quickly loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom half. Trey Johnson and Crawford Elrod each drove in a run to regain a small lead, and Engle laced a two-run single up the right-field line to extend the advantage.
Hammond followed two batters later with a three-run home run over the left-field wall, and Daniel added a two-run double into left-center field later in the inning to completely break open the game.
“I was just thinking, ‘This guy’s going to throw me a fastball,” Hammond said. “I was thinking first-pitch fastball, and that’s exactly what I got. So, I just hit it as hard as I possibly could. It’s amazing.”
Vogler got the win, striking out six in five innings, before handing off to Hammond, who struck out four in two innings.
Westchester plays again Monday at home against Calvary Day, followed by games against Greensboro Day on Tuesday at home and Friday in Greensboro.
“It’s huge,” Woodall said. “We say all the time: With the way we practice and the way we do things, we can compete with anybody. We’ve just got to trust the guys behind us.
“You might hear us yelling, ‘So what?’ That’s kind of our team motto. Even if you do something wrong, the guy behind you is going to take care of it. Tonight’s a big win for us, but tomorrow we’ll be back to 0-0.”
In a ceremony before the game, swimmer Virginia Marsh and golfer Thomas Walsh were inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame.
mlindsay@hpenews.com | 336-888-3526 | @HPEmichael
WESTCHESTER CD 10, FORSYTH CD 1
FCDS 000 010 0 – 1 4 1
WCDS 010 090 X – 10 7 0
WP – Vogler (5IP, 6K, 1BB, 3H, 1R);
LP – Drucker (4IP, 3K, 6BB, 2H, 4R, 3ER, 2WP, 2HBP)
FCDS: Guerra (1-2), Drucker (1-3, R), Michalek (1-3, RBI);
WCDS: C. Hammond (1-3, HR, 4RBI), Daniel (1-4, 2B, 2RBI), Engle (1-3, RBI), Vogler (2-4)
By MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER Apr 22, 2022 Updated Apr 23, 2022
HIGH POINT — Westchester Country Day turned a spark into an explosion.
The Wildcats, after limiting the damage in the top half, scored nine runs in the bottom of the fifth to race past Forsyth Country Day 10-1 in PTAC baseball Friday evening in their hall of fame game at Westchester.
“We talked about it before and we had to change our approach just a little bit,” Westchester coach Rob Woodall said. “We were swinging at bad pitches, and that’s not what we do. We’re aggressive with stuff in our zone.
“They’re young kids, so it takes a little while to figure that kind of stuff out. But once they do, we’ve got some guys who can do good things with a baseball bat. That’s what we like to see.”
Caleb Hammond had a home run and four RBIs to lead the Wildcats (9-4 overall, 2-3 conference), who have won three in a row following a three-game skid. Carson Daniel added a double and two RBIs.
Ryan Engle had a single and two RBIs and Tate Vogler chipped in two hits as Westchester tallied six of its seven hits for the game during a 14-batter fifth inning in which it took full control of a tight game.
“It’s huge,” said Hammond, a junior outfielder/pitcher. “It’s our first sweep of the year. I think our pitchers threw really well, and I’m glad our hitting came through.
“I really think we started to see the pitcher more. He was definitely a funky guy, and we started understanding more what he was trying to do. And we started to pounce on him.”
The Wildcats scored a run in the second on a bases-loaded walk to Hammond, but the Furies (4-10, 0-6) answered with a two-out single to even the game 1-1 in the top of the fifth.
Forsyth could’ve added at least one more when, with runners on second and third and one out, a pitch went to the backstop. The Furies runner was called out at home, and a minor scuffle broke out following the play.
Order was quickly restored and play continued without incident. But Westchester escaped only allowing one run as Vogler — who was perfect through four innings — got a strikeout to end the inning.
Then, the Wildcats quickly loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom half. Trey Johnson and Crawford Elrod each drove in a run to regain a small lead, and Engle laced a two-run single up the right-field line to extend the advantage.
Hammond followed two batters later with a three-run home run over the left-field wall, and Daniel added a two-run double into left-center field later in the inning to completely break open the game.
“I was just thinking, ‘This guy’s going to throw me a fastball,” Hammond said. “I was thinking first-pitch fastball, and that’s exactly what I got. So, I just hit it as hard as I possibly could. It’s amazing.”
Vogler got the win, striking out six in five innings, before handing off to Hammond, who struck out four in two innings.
Westchester plays again Monday at home against Calvary Day, followed by games against Greensboro Day on Tuesday at home and Friday in Greensboro.
“It’s huge,” Woodall said. “We say all the time: With the way we practice and the way we do things, we can compete with anybody. We’ve just got to trust the guys behind us.
“You might hear us yelling, ‘So what?’ That’s kind of our team motto. Even if you do something wrong, the guy behind you is going to take care of it. Tonight’s a big win for us, but tomorrow we’ll be back to 0-0.”
In a ceremony before the game, swimmer Virginia Marsh and golfer Thomas Walsh were inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame.
mlindsay@hpenews.com | 336-888-3526 | @HPEmichael
WESTCHESTER CD 10, FORSYTH CD 1
FCDS 000 010 0 – 1 4 1
WCDS 010 090 X – 10 7 0
WP – Vogler (5IP, 6K, 1BB, 3H, 1R);
LP – Drucker (4IP, 3K, 6BB, 2H, 4R, 3ER, 2WP, 2HBP)
FCDS: Guerra (1-2), Drucker (1-3, R), Michalek (1-3, RBI);
WCDS: C. Hammond (1-3, HR, 4RBI), Daniel (1-4, 2B, 2RBI), Engle (1-3, RBI), Vogler (2-4)
