HP Christian sweeps Westchester
BY MICHAEL LINDSAYENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — High Point Christian kept rolling right through Westchester Country Day.The Cougars scored a run in all but two of their nine at-bats while their pitching and defense kept the Wildcats in check throughout to pick up a pair of wins — 10-0 and 12-0 — in two five-inning Piedmont Triad Athletic Conference baseball games Tuesday afternoon at Oak View Baptist Church.
“I felt like we swung the bat well,” HPCA coach Corey Gesell said. “Westchester’s pitcher throws the ball well and we were able to get a couple good hits on him that first inning. So, I was glad to get out and get a couple runs early. It always helps your pitcher and your whole team relax a little bit if you can get a couple in the first.
“Baseball’s a funny game because pitching can be contagious, hitting can be contagious, errors can be contagious. So, baseball’s a funny game — we’ve seen it all. But kids get confident when they see their teammates hitting the ball.”
Carson Yates and Logan Robson each homered in game 1 for the Cougars (14-2 overall, 6-0 PTAC), ranked No. 1 among NCISAA 3A teams by MaxPreps and No. 9 in the state overall. Dylan Schultheiss tallied three hits and four RBIs in game 2 as HPCA totaled nine extra-base hits over the two games.
The Cougars scored at least one run in all four trips to the plate in game 1 — highlighted by a four-run third in which all nine batters came to the plate — and, playing as the visitors in game 2, scored in three of their five at-bats — including a six-run fourth inning in which 11 batters came to the plate.
“I felt like we did great — pitching and hitting,” said Heath, a senior outfielder/pitcher who has signed with USC Sumter junior college. “We just put a bunch of hits together, helped out our pitchers and scored a bunch of runs
.“Honestly, we just come out here wanting to win every day. We just want to run-rule every team. So, the game before always helps — especially when we’re hot like we are right now.”
On the mound, Chase Britton, a Gardner-Webb recruit, got the win in game 1. He struck out eight while allowing one hit and one walk in five innings. In game 2, Eli Crump struck out four while giving up three hits and one walk in three innings as HPCA won its ninth in a row and fifth straight by double digits.
“With all of our pitchers, we’re working on trying to control and throw for strikes three different pitches,” Gesell said. “So, that’s always a process that we’re working on. Obviously, some days are better than oth-ers,” he said with a smile. “But, yeah, the pitchers threw well today — a lot of strikes.”
On the other side, the Wildcats (2-3, 0-4) — who’ve struggled to get games in because of the weather — had their moments but just couldn’t match the Cougars. After managing just one hit in the first game they rallied to load the bases with two outs in the second inning of game 2.But HPCA turned a double play — one of three it turned during the afternoon — to escape.
Dean Herring — who made an outstanding catch while crashing into the outfi eld fence — had the lone hit in the first game, while Will Herndon, Cook Smith and Trey Johnson each had a hit in the second game.Ty Choplin took the loss on the mound in game 1, while Sam Barefoot got the loss in game 2.
“That’s a good team right there,” Westchester coach Devin McLemore said. “High Point Christian’s a good team, and they’ve got a lot of guys who are going on and continuing their baseball careers at the college level. So, it was a great chance for us to stack up and see what we have.
“I thought they pretty much set the tone right away with their dominance on the mound. But there are definitely some good things we can take from this. We had an eighth-grader on the mound and he did really well. We had a freshman up there doing really well. Of course, we work for now, but we certainly look forward to the future.”
The Wildcats will continue PTAC play Thursday at home against Greensboro Day, while the Cougars will host nonconference Covenant Day on Friday before playing fi ve games in fi ve days next week in the Mingo Bay tournament at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
BY MICHAEL LINDSAYENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — High Point Christian kept rolling right through Westchester Country Day.The Cougars scored a run in all but two of their nine at-bats while their pitching and defense kept the Wildcats in check throughout to pick up a pair of wins — 10-0 and 12-0 — in two five-inning Piedmont Triad Athletic Conference baseball games Tuesday afternoon at Oak View Baptist Church.
“I felt like we swung the bat well,” HPCA coach Corey Gesell said. “Westchester’s pitcher throws the ball well and we were able to get a couple good hits on him that first inning. So, I was glad to get out and get a couple runs early. It always helps your pitcher and your whole team relax a little bit if you can get a couple in the first.
“Baseball’s a funny game because pitching can be contagious, hitting can be contagious, errors can be contagious. So, baseball’s a funny game — we’ve seen it all. But kids get confident when they see their teammates hitting the ball.”
Carson Yates and Logan Robson each homered in game 1 for the Cougars (14-2 overall, 6-0 PTAC), ranked No. 1 among NCISAA 3A teams by MaxPreps and No. 9 in the state overall. Dylan Schultheiss tallied three hits and four RBIs in game 2 as HPCA totaled nine extra-base hits over the two games.
The Cougars scored at least one run in all four trips to the plate in game 1 — highlighted by a four-run third in which all nine batters came to the plate — and, playing as the visitors in game 2, scored in three of their five at-bats — including a six-run fourth inning in which 11 batters came to the plate.
“I felt like we did great — pitching and hitting,” said Heath, a senior outfielder/pitcher who has signed with USC Sumter junior college. “We just put a bunch of hits together, helped out our pitchers and scored a bunch of runs
.“Honestly, we just come out here wanting to win every day. We just want to run-rule every team. So, the game before always helps — especially when we’re hot like we are right now.”
On the mound, Chase Britton, a Gardner-Webb recruit, got the win in game 1. He struck out eight while allowing one hit and one walk in five innings. In game 2, Eli Crump struck out four while giving up three hits and one walk in three innings as HPCA won its ninth in a row and fifth straight by double digits.
“With all of our pitchers, we’re working on trying to control and throw for strikes three different pitches,” Gesell said. “So, that’s always a process that we’re working on. Obviously, some days are better than oth-ers,” he said with a smile. “But, yeah, the pitchers threw well today — a lot of strikes.”
On the other side, the Wildcats (2-3, 0-4) — who’ve struggled to get games in because of the weather — had their moments but just couldn’t match the Cougars. After managing just one hit in the first game they rallied to load the bases with two outs in the second inning of game 2.But HPCA turned a double play — one of three it turned during the afternoon — to escape.
Dean Herring — who made an outstanding catch while crashing into the outfi eld fence — had the lone hit in the first game, while Will Herndon, Cook Smith and Trey Johnson each had a hit in the second game.Ty Choplin took the loss on the mound in game 1, while Sam Barefoot got the loss in game 2.
“That’s a good team right there,” Westchester coach Devin McLemore said. “High Point Christian’s a good team, and they’ve got a lot of guys who are going on and continuing their baseball careers at the college level. So, it was a great chance for us to stack up and see what we have.
“I thought they pretty much set the tone right away with their dominance on the mound. But there are definitely some good things we can take from this. We had an eighth-grader on the mound and he did really well. We had a freshman up there doing really well. Of course, we work for now, but we certainly look forward to the future.”
The Wildcats will continue PTAC play Thursday at home against Greensboro Day, while the Cougars will host nonconference Covenant Day on Friday before playing fi ve games in fi ve days next week in the Mingo Bay tournament at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
