The Avery Vikings baseball team made the five-hour trek to Cherokee County to face the Eagles in round two of the North Carolina 1A state baseball playoffs. Avery dominated early, getting off to a blistering start with 14 runs off four home runs in the first three innings to take a commanding 12-run advantage before Hiwassee roared back to tie the game in the 7th inning. In the end, a defensive stop that saved a run and a two-run home run at the plate from shortstop C.J. Vance proved to be the difference as the Big Red held on for a 16-14 win.Steven Daniels hit a three-run home run to put Avery on the board, followed by a Joe Buchanan grand slam to lead 7-0 after the top of the first. Hiwassee Dam answered with two runs on a home run to cut the lead to 7-2 after one.
In the top of the second, Avery had a two-out, three-run home run by Jared Clark, as well as a three-run home run to dead center field from Luke Pittman to lead 13-2. Starting pitcher Jared Clark held Hiwassee Dam scoreless in the bottom of the second.
Avery scored a single run in the top of the third inning. A two-out single by Clark scored Daniel Huff to lead 14-2 going to bottom of the frame. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, the Hiwassee Dam cleanup hitter hit a two-run homer to cut the lead back to 14-4.
Avery's bats went silent after the Hiwassee Dam manager replaced his left-handed starting pitcher with a righty, the team's #1 starter who came on in relief. From the fourth through the seventh, Avery put few runners on base and could not score a run.
As the Viking bats faltered, the Hiwassee lumber started on the comeback trail. Avery starter Clark was lifted before the bottom of the fourth due to a sore collar bone and was replaced by reliever Daniel Huff. Hiwassee Dam dialed in quickly on the senior reliever, as a RBI single pulled Hiwassee within 14-5, followed by a two-run single to make the score 14-7.
Avery stranded a pair of base runners in the top of the sixth, while in the bottom half the Eagles plated three runs on three base hits, a bases loaded walk, and a Fielder's Choice, which plated the third run and cut the lead to 14-10 going to the seventh.
After holding Avery scoreless in the top of the inning, Hiwassee
rallied to tie the game. A base hit, accompanied by a two-run home run to left field cut the lead to a pair at 14-12 with one out. Vikings coach Benny Wellborn pulled his senior reliever in favor of fellow senior Steven Daniels.On the first pitch after the pitching change, Hiwassee belted a solo home run to right field to cut the lead to 14-13. After a pair of additional base hits, an infield hit plated the tying run. A diving stop from shortstop CJ Vance on the play prevented the ball from going into the outfield and the potential winning run from scoring at third base. Daniels struck out the final batter with two Eagles stranded to send the game into extras tied at 14.
In the top of the eighth inning, Avery's first two batters were retired. Jared Clark worked a two-out walk, and Vance followed with his first home run of the year, a two-run shot over the right field fence to give the Vikings back the two-run edge at 16-14.
In the bottom of the frame, the lead-off hitter singled to left. The next two hitters struck out and flew out to center field, respectively. With the tying run at the plate, Daniels induced a ground out to second base to end the ballgame and send the Vikings to the third round for the first time since 2007.
"We hit the ball well early. Considering the size of the park you're either going to hit singles or home runs. I figured they would score some runs and make the game close and they did," Coach Wellborn said after the win. "They didn't throw their number one to start the game. That was obvious when they brought in the right-hander. He stuck it to us there for a while, but C.J. came up big with a big hit."
The coach expressed concern over the inconsistency of the calling of the game by the umpires, especially after the Vikings lit up the scoreboard for 14 runs after the third inning.
"It was inconsistently called from the third inning on. I'm not going to expect our kids to go up to the plate and swing at bad pitches, and I'm glad they didn't," the coach said. "But those are things you deal with. We battled and we were able to come out on top."
Following the win, the coach gave a lot of credit to his "Cardiac Kids", as he coined them, stating how proud he was that the team never gave up despite losing the lead.
"No matter what the situation is, our kids don't quit. C.J. made a good defensive play and had the big hit in the eighth inning. He could have let a number of things bother him, but he didn't. Steven's change-up was working like crazy in the eighth inning. Our kids are going against all odds right now. Nobody expected us to be advancing to the third round of the playoffs, and here we are. It's all about their heart and determination."
Avery will travel to Murphy Friday afternoon to take on the 22-0 and top-ranked Murphy Bulldogs, who defeated East Wilkes 9-0 in Murphy last evening
