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By Joel Frady
Alleghany lightning
The Ashe County High School varsity boys baseball team
got off to a fast start in Sparta on Wednesday, Apri
l 29, against the Alleghany Trojans. The Huskies scored three
runs in the top of the first before nature crashed the party
with rain and lighting.
After waiting for the storm to pass over, the game was officially
cancelled.
Huskies stun Falcons
After posting their first Mountain Valley Conference win
on Friday, April 24, against the North Wilkes Vikings, the Huskies
were able to put together consecutive conference wins when they
upset the second-place Forbush Falcons on Thursday, April 30,
in West Jefferson. Forbush had previously beaten the Huskies
10-8 when they met on April 3 in East Bend.
Neither team was able to score in the first inning, and Forbush
recorded the inning's only hit. Forbush wasn't able to take
advantage of Ashe County miscues (one walk, one batter hit by
a pitch and one fielding error) in the second inning, leaving
the bases loaded without scoring a run.
The Huskies found their offensive in the bottom of the second,
as they loaded the bases with a single from senior Andrew Sexton,
a walk by senior Ethan Wyatt and a successful bunt from junior
Cory Roten. Senior Tatum Lemly hit a sacrifice fly to left field
that scored junior Aaron Scott (Sexton's pinch-runner) before
a single by senior Jonathan Elledge loaded the bases again.
Two batters later, senior Daniel Waln hit a single that scored
Roten and Wyatt to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead.
The Falcons responded in the third, as a lead-off double, two
singles and a fielding error led to three runs to even the score.
The Huskies had a response of their own, however, as Sexton
hit a solo home run with one out to put Ashe County back in
front.
Wyatt then stole first base after striking out and Roten singled.
The runners advanced on a pitching error, but it was two consecutive
walks that would prove fatal to Forbush: the first loaded the
bases, and the second scored Wyatt to give the Huskies a 5-3
lead.
Ashe County was unable to score for the rest of the game, but
their defense kept them ahead. They allowed two hits in the
fourth before retiring three batters in a row, and runners were
on first and second with one out in the fifth when senior catcher
Kyle Huyton made a huge defensive double-play: after a strikeout
to get the second out, Guyton threw out a Forbush runner attempting
to steal third.
Forbush scored a run in the top of the sixth to pull within
one, but the Huskies were able to hang on for the 5-4 victory.
After an 0-10 start in the conference, they finished with two
wins.
"The intensity was there, and that's the main thing,"
said Ashe County Head Coach Ronnie Pruitt. "We kept hitting
the ball, we played good defense and we had a great pitching
outing from Andrew Sexton.
"But the key tonight was intensity, not just from the nine
starters that we have but from the bench, too," he continued.
"They were so involved in the game and kept our team pumped
up."
Pruitt noted that the biggest plays were Sexton's solo shot
that broke the tie in the third inning and Guyton's double-play
in the fifth.
"That was a big momentum booster right there," Pruitt
said of the double-play. "Their coach just kept sending
runners, but Kyle was on the money with his throws tonight,
and that was the best strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out performance
I've ever seen in my career here."
Pruitt said that the win could prove useful if they were to
make a run in the conference tournament.
"We've won two in a row and we've got momentum right now,"
he said. "The way the conference tournament is, it's just
one and done. We're just playing hard and that's all we can
do."
Eagles eliminate Ashe with giant third
The Huskies traveled to North Wilkesboro on Monday, May
4, for their conference tournament opener against the Wilkes
Central Eagles. It was raining, just like Ashe County's conference
season opener at Wilkes Central, and the result was also similar:
Wilkes Central moved runners around the bases quickly and piled
on the runs in a 17-4 match that eliminated the Huskies.
For the first two innings, it looked like Ashe County might
give the Eagles a run. Waln singled to lead off the first and
advanced to third on a walk and a double-play ground-ball before
stealing home on a pitching error to give Ashe County a 1-0
lead.
The lead didn't last, however, as a two-run home run in the
bottom of the first put Wilkes Central up to stay.
Defense took over in the second inning, as neither team was
able to get on base. The Huskies also went three up, three down
in the top of the third before the Eagles found their flight.
Wilkes Central began the third with three consecutive singles
and a run that put them up 3-1. The next two batters were both
hit by pitches, which loaded the bases and scored another run.
The Huskies changed pitchers, but to no avail: the next batter
hit a grand slam over the left field fence that put the Eagles
up 8-1.
The Eagles continued to round the bases as the inning continued,
and two two-run home runs helped them finish the inning with
11 runs and a 13-1 lead.
Guyton hit a solo home run to open up the fourth inning, but
the Eagles scored four runs in the bottom of the inning to go
up 17-2.
The Huskies scored two runs in the top of the fifth, but the
game was called at 17-4 due to the mercy rule.
"They just hit the ball hard tonight," said Pruitt.
"I just tip my hat to them - we got beat by a better team
tonight. They just flat out beat us."
Unless the Huskies (6-14) get an invitation to the state tournament,
the loss also signaled the end of their 2009 campaign - and,
for many seniors, the last time they would wear the purple and
white for Ashe County High School.
"I told the seniors I was proud of their efforts and I
appreciate the," said Pruitt, "and if there's anything
I can ever do for them to just let me know because this is a
good group of kids whose parents raised 'em right. I'm just
proud of them."
He said he also told the team: "You guys never do quit,
you gave me everything you got and I just appreciate it."
To find out more about the Ashe County High School baseball
program, call (336) 846-2400 or click to www.ashe.k12.nc.us/achs/web/home/index.htm.
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