Westchester upends Wesleyan
Michael Lindsey---HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE
HIGH POINT — Westchester Country Day was ready and eager to get a big rivalry win.
The Wildcats scored six runs in the first two innings and, keyed by strong pitching by Jeremiah Foster and Tyrese Hearst, limited Wesleyan Christian’s chances and posted a 6-3 victory Monday at Westchester in a meeting of state powers and city rivals.
“It’s a really big win for us,” Foster said. “We’re a 2A school playing against a bigger 3A school. I’m sure a lot of people picked us to lose, but we got the win. Tyrese and I threw the ball well. We had a few baserunning mistakes, but the pitching really got us the win.
“There are three private schools here in High Point: High Point Christian, Wesleyan and Westchester. We beat Wesleyan, so High Point Christian’s next,” he said with a smile.
Chase Pyrtle went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs to lead Westchester (8-2), which is ranked No. 1 among NCISAA 2A teams and won three straight state championships prior to last year. Will Shields and Aubrey Smith each went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI, while Foster went 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Foster (4-0) also pitched 4 ⅓ innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out five, before giving way to Hearst, who entered amid a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth, escaped with minimal damage and held the Trojans in check the rest of the way for his first save.
“We got off to a really good start,” Wildcats coach Mickey Williard said. “And thankfully our pitching held up the rest of the day because we didn’t get much else at the plate after that. But I feel good. We made more mistakes than what’s characteristic of us, but we weathered those and didn’t let them snowball.
“They’re a very good program, and we like the opportunity to play them when we can. We like to play the best and measure ourselves against that. They’re a good program, they have a lot of talent, and it’s good to come out and know that we can not only play with them but we can come home with a victory.”
Adam Lassiter went 2 for 3 with a double to lead Wesleyan (4-2), which is ranked No. 4 among NCISAA 3A teams and reached the state finals last year for the fifth time in the last eight years. Seth McGee added a double and two RBIs, while Ben Horkey had a hit and a run.
Riley Isenhour (1-2) gave up six runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out four, while the defense made a handful of miscues behind him early that Westchester eagerly took advantage of. Horkey pitched the final two innings in scoreless relief.
“We didn’t play very well,” Trojans coach Scott Davis said. “We’vehad to move some guys around, due to some injuries (most notably Nate Blakeney with a thumb injury) and academic issues. But it’s next man up— no excuses. We’re just not playing well in any facet of the game right now.
“So, when you’re facing a solid ballclub like they are with a good pitcher, you’ve got to be able to playdefense, you’ve got to be able to pitch it and you’ve got to be able to get key hits. And we’re just not doing that.… We got out of a rhythm, and you could tell that today. But we’ll get it together.”
The Wildcats scored four runs in the first inning, on RBI singles by Foster and Smith and an RBI double by Pyrtle, and two in the second,keyed by an RBI double by Shields and an RBI groundout by Hearst, to build a 6-0 lead.
Wesleyan, which was limited to just two runners through the first three innings and were halted in the third by an outstanding double play up the middle by Mac Starbuck and Gavin Tippett, chipped away in the fourth and fifth innings.
The Trojans pulled within 6-2 in the fourth on a two-run double by McGee and and within 6-3 in the fifth on a bobbled infield grounder with the bases loaded. They put two runners on base with two outs in the seventh, bringing the tying run to the plate, but lined out to short to end the game.
Wesleyan faces the Charlotte Stampede today before taking on SouthLake Christian on Friday (both games will be at Ed Price Field at 6 p.m.). Westchester visits Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill for a doubleheader Thursday before playing three games over the weekend in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Michael Lindsey---HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE
HIGH POINT — Westchester Country Day was ready and eager to get a big rivalry win.
The Wildcats scored six runs in the first two innings and, keyed by strong pitching by Jeremiah Foster and Tyrese Hearst, limited Wesleyan Christian’s chances and posted a 6-3 victory Monday at Westchester in a meeting of state powers and city rivals.
“It’s a really big win for us,” Foster said. “We’re a 2A school playing against a bigger 3A school. I’m sure a lot of people picked us to lose, but we got the win. Tyrese and I threw the ball well. We had a few baserunning mistakes, but the pitching really got us the win.
“There are three private schools here in High Point: High Point Christian, Wesleyan and Westchester. We beat Wesleyan, so High Point Christian’s next,” he said with a smile.
Chase Pyrtle went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs to lead Westchester (8-2), which is ranked No. 1 among NCISAA 2A teams and won three straight state championships prior to last year. Will Shields and Aubrey Smith each went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI, while Foster went 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Foster (4-0) also pitched 4 ⅓ innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out five, before giving way to Hearst, who entered amid a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth, escaped with minimal damage and held the Trojans in check the rest of the way for his first save.
“We got off to a really good start,” Wildcats coach Mickey Williard said. “And thankfully our pitching held up the rest of the day because we didn’t get much else at the plate after that. But I feel good. We made more mistakes than what’s characteristic of us, but we weathered those and didn’t let them snowball.
“They’re a very good program, and we like the opportunity to play them when we can. We like to play the best and measure ourselves against that. They’re a good program, they have a lot of talent, and it’s good to come out and know that we can not only play with them but we can come home with a victory.”
Adam Lassiter went 2 for 3 with a double to lead Wesleyan (4-2), which is ranked No. 4 among NCISAA 3A teams and reached the state finals last year for the fifth time in the last eight years. Seth McGee added a double and two RBIs, while Ben Horkey had a hit and a run.
Riley Isenhour (1-2) gave up six runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out four, while the defense made a handful of miscues behind him early that Westchester eagerly took advantage of. Horkey pitched the final two innings in scoreless relief.
“We didn’t play very well,” Trojans coach Scott Davis said. “We’vehad to move some guys around, due to some injuries (most notably Nate Blakeney with a thumb injury) and academic issues. But it’s next man up— no excuses. We’re just not playing well in any facet of the game right now.
“So, when you’re facing a solid ballclub like they are with a good pitcher, you’ve got to be able to playdefense, you’ve got to be able to pitch it and you’ve got to be able to get key hits. And we’re just not doing that.… We got out of a rhythm, and you could tell that today. But we’ll get it together.”
The Wildcats scored four runs in the first inning, on RBI singles by Foster and Smith and an RBI double by Pyrtle, and two in the second,keyed by an RBI double by Shields and an RBI groundout by Hearst, to build a 6-0 lead.
Wesleyan, which was limited to just two runners through the first three innings and were halted in the third by an outstanding double play up the middle by Mac Starbuck and Gavin Tippett, chipped away in the fourth and fifth innings.
The Trojans pulled within 6-2 in the fourth on a two-run double by McGee and and within 6-3 in the fifth on a bobbled infield grounder with the bases loaded. They put two runners on base with two outs in the seventh, bringing the tying run to the plate, but lined out to short to end the game.
Wesleyan faces the Charlotte Stampede today before taking on SouthLake Christian on Friday (both games will be at Ed Price Field at 6 p.m.). Westchester visits Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill for a doubleheader Thursday before playing three games over the weekend in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
