Avery Little League Tournament Action Begins

The Avery 9 and 10 year old boys baseball team lost a narrow contest last Thursday by a final score of 7-6 to a Wilkes County squad to open Little League District Tournament action.
Jeffrey Puckett got the starting pitcher nod for the Avery team, and he kept the Wilkes National #2 team’s bats silent through the first two innings. During that time the Avery offense jumped out to a commanding 5-0 advantage, scoring three runs in the second inning and two runs in the top of the third frame.

The bats on the Wilkes club woke up in the bottom of the third inning, rapping four hits to put pressure on the Avery defense. Wilkes batters also were patient at the plate, drawing walks in the inning off both Puckett and southpaw relief pitcher Gabe Stanley for a total output of seven runs to put the Avery team behind by a pair of runs.

Stanley settled down and held Wilkes scoreless for the remainder of the ballgame while Avery managed to manufacture a run in the top of the fifth inning. Puckett belted a triple for his third base hit of the game to lead off the inning. He later scored on a Daniel Hartless single to cut the deficit to 7-6.

In the final inning Avery needed a run or more to avoid defeat. An Avery leadoff hitter ripped a double to start the frame, but was thrown out attempting to stretch the play into a triple for the inning’s first out. Nick Wottell had four hits in the game and a base hit put him on first with two outs representing the tying run. Unfortunately a strikeout by the next batter ended the game to drop Avery into the consolation bracket.

“We just ran out of innings in the game,” Avery coach Adrian Crowe said after the defeat. “We’re hitting the ball really well and that game could have gone either way.”

On Saturday Avery traveled to Happy Valley in Caldwell County for its second district tournament contest and picked up a thrilling 10-9 victory over another of the four Wilkes County teams in the District Tournament.

Brett Smith got the call on the mound to start for the Avery squad and ran into early difficulty. Wilkes jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Smith and his teammates mounted a comeback, scoring two runs in the first frame to cut the lead in half at 4-2. Smith and the Avery defense held Wilkes scoreless in both the second and third innings, and Avery’s bats responded with a run in the bottom of the second and two runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead at 5-4.

In the top of the fourth Wilkes rallied for a pair of runs, but reliever Nick Wottell was able to put out the fire and keep Avery within a run at 6-5. The Avery club continued to hit the baseball, plating three in the bottom of the fourth for the third lead change of the game at 8-6.
Both teams were scoreless in the fifth inning, but Wilkes kept its season alive temporarily with three runs in the sixth before pitcher Rick Daniels shut down the inning. The rally left Avery fighting for its survival with a 9-8 deficit going into its last inning at bat.

In the sixth inning Avery put runners on second and third base for Aaron Dugger. Dugger became slugger as he belted a pitch in the gap in right field, scoring both runners to give Avery the dramatic 10-9 victory.

“Aaron came through with a bit hit for us. The entire team is hitting the ball so well and we’re tickled to see it,” Coach Crowe said after the win. “We’re also really confident with our pitchers and they are doing a great job.”Avery takes on a Caldwell County team at Ashe Park in Jefferson on Tuesday night.

Fists & Feet Fly at Lenoir's "Fights in the Foothills"

It was an exciting evening of cage-rattling action Saturday night at Lenoir’s Mulberry Street Recreation Center as Mayhem Cage Fights presented the “Fights in the Foothills” mixed martial arts event.

A near-capacity crowd filled the complex as fighters from across North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina competed in 11 MMA contests. Contestants were awarded points according to performance that are compiled throughout the year as part of the Mid-Atlantic Mixed Martial Arts Championship, with title belts to be awarded later in the year.

Fighters trained in disciplines including karate, jiu-jitsu, boxing, grappling, kickboxing, and wrestling were showcased on the card. Matches were scheduled for 3 three-minute rounds. Despite only one match lasting into the third round, jarring punches and kicks were abundant throughout the night.

The evening kicked off with a mixed martial arts exhibition from 11-year old MMA Hall of Famer Alexandra Pyles, a young lady who holds 12 MMA championships and three world records and will be featured this season on the NBC television show “America’s Got Talent”.
Following the exhibition the evening’s fights kicked off with a first round, tap out victory by Joshua Curtis over Allan Mendez in the bantamweight division. Curtis “Bam Bam” Brinkley was victorious in the light heavyweight division over Najee Mohammad by second round technical knockout (TKO).

Matt Morgan defeated Phil Estes by tap out due to a triangle choke in a middleweight fight, followed by Bill Childs defeating Brennan Mays by first round TKO. In one of the night’s most exciting bouts, Travis Wilson and Ed Jackson squared off in a light heavyweight showdown. Jackson emerged victorious in the third round, grounding his opponent and winning in the third round by TKO.

After a 15-minute intermission and a second exhibition by Alexandra Pyles, the fight action resumed with a first round tap out victory by Joe Carroll over Brandel Clary at the lightweight division.

In the only super heavyweight fight of the evening, Tunene Jackson defeated Mike Imes in 18 seconds when a solid punch by Jackson wobbled Imes, leading to a TKO finish. The punch was one of the most effectively landed fists of the entire night, as on-site medical staff later determined a broken jaw resulted from the blow.

Sheyenne Housand defeated Ron Lindig in the night’s eighth bout by way of guillotine choke at 2:36 of the first round. Johnny Buck won a lightweight battle by first round submission, while in the night’s most technically contested fight, Johnson City’s Troy Dollar survived a number of submission attempts to eventually defeat Hickory’s Scott Monish, Jr. with a triangle choke for a second round win.

Saturday night’s main event of the evening was a welterweight matchup between Michael Peurifoy and MMA veteran Allen “The Hedgehog” Greenway. Greenway showed his experience in the early going, using his “educated feet” to inflict pain on the shin and thigh of his opponent. The perseverance of low kicks took its toll quickly on Peurifoy as he began to limp noticeably inside the cage. After a series of kicks to the same left leg, Peurifoy was deemed by the official as unable to continue the fight, giving the TKO victory to “The Hedgehog”.

Mayhem Cage Fights promoter James Hines was pleased with the turnout as well as the effort of the fighters throughout the evening. “The response from the folks was very positive. We believe that we can build a solid sporting event in the area, even three times per year in Lenoir possibly,” Hines said. “People came from a 60 mile radius to Lenoir's event from places like Charlotte, Shelby, Galax, VA, Johnson City, TN, Asheville, NC, and all points in between to see the event.”

Mayhem Cage Fights already has a busy schedule of events in the coming months around the region. MMA will be in Mebane, NC on July 19th, Concord, NC on July 26th, Asheville Civic Center on August 16th, and Greenville, NC on October 4th. Mayhem hopes to return to Lenoir or possibly the High Country later this fall.

“We would love to present Mayhem in Avery County, at the High School or another location at some point in time,” Hines added. “The fighters were all looking forward to the next event, coming to the fight coordinator at the end of the evening saying “put me on the card for July 19th”. It's in their blood. Some were winners, some were losers, but all were ready to fight again.”