Last Saturday was an active day for all four Avery County Little League District 7 Tournament teams.On a picturesque afternoon to play ball, the Avery 9 and 10 year old teams hosted tournament action in Newland, while the 11 and 12 softball team opened its tournament with a game at Watauga and the 11-12 baseball team traveled to Wilkesboro to open tournament play against Wilkes American.
After defeats in opening round games, the 9 and 10 squads could neither afford a loss. Unfortunately for both teams, however, they met traditionally powerful district teams. In 9-10 softball Avery took on Wilkes American and despite a worthy effort, was eliminated by a final score of 23-2.
The 9 and 10 boys baseball team looked to rebound after its opening round defeat to Wilkes National, but ran into a buzz saw in the squad from Lenoir National. Avery played hard through the final out, but Lenoir simply had too much offensive firepower in a 12-2 victory.
In the 11 and 12 year old divisions, both Avery teams got their first taste of District tournament action. Avery’s softball team picked up a three-run, first inning inside-the-park home run from Jerrica Reiger, while the pitching of starter Emily Brown and a brilliant Avery defensive display made the lead stand up in a 3-1 Avery win.
Avery held Watauga scoreless in the top of the first and did all its offensive damage in the bottom of the opening inning. Kesha Garland drew a walk to lead off the frame. Kaitlyn Arbogast reached base on a hit to left field to set the table for Reiger, who blasted the first pitch she saw all the way to the left field fence. Both base runners scored while Reiger raced around the diamond before the Watauga defense could relay the ball back to the infield.
The damage in the first inning could have been significantly greater, but Avery stranded two runners in scoring position after the home run to prevent Avery from holding more than a three-run lead.
Watauga scored its lone run in the top of the second inning. The ladies from Pioneer land put two runners on after a base hit and an error. Avery traded a run for an out, however, when Watauga second baseman Athena Millsaps rolled an RBI groundout to Avery third baseman Charity Ollis. Starting pitcher Emily Brown worked out of the jam for the Avery squad to prevent any further runs from plating.
Avery left a total of five runners on base in the innings 3-5 but could not manufacture any insurance runs to earn extra breathing room on defense. In each of the final two innings Watauga threatened to score, but sterling defense was turned in by Avery. A 4-3 double-play ended the fifth inning, while a catch from shortstop
“The girls played well. We had a couple of girls out on vacation last week and they came back and played great today. This is really exciting. We felt we could be competitive and thought this was a game we should win and we did,” Avery head coach Craig Reiger said following Saturday’s triumph.
Avery starter Emily Brown picked up the complete-game victory inside the circle surrendering only one run over six innings, while Jerrica Reiger’s three RBI proved more than enough offense to win the day.
“Jerrica’s hit was a big boost for us, and we were able to put runners on base in every inning, which is a great sign,” Coach Reiger said. “Emily did a great job hitting her spots and didn’t give up many walks, Pitching is such a key in Little League tournaments, and Emily pitched great today.”
Later Saturday afternoon, the Avery 11 and 12 year old
baseball team traveled to sizzling Wilkes drew first blood in the top of the first inning of play with a double and a base hit off Avery southpaw Stanley, who got the ball to start on the mound.
In the bottom of the first, Avery shortstop Brett Smith reached base on a one-out walk, and
Neither team could crack the scoreboard in the second inning. In the top of the third inning, however, Wilkes seized momentum and turned a close contest into a rout. A total of 13 batters came to the plate in the inning as the Wilkes hitters were able to time the Avery lefty and hit a number of good pitches between fielders in both the infield and outfield. Luke Crowe came on in relief for Avery and surrendered a couple of hits before retiring the Wilkes side, but not before Wilkes built an 11-2 lead.
Avery managed only one hit over the final three innings off the Wilkes pitching staff who appeared to only strengthen as the game lengthened. The Wilkes offense scored five runs in the top of the fifth inning as both Crowe and Lucas Powell pitched in the final frame. Avery was retired in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the game due to the ten-run mercy rule.
“Wilkes did a good job of hitting the ball in the hole in that third inning, and we made a few mistakes in the field to help them out some,” Avery 11 and 12 year olds head coach Sherrill Rominger said following the contest. “Gabe pitched probably the best game he’s thrown this year, but they just had some good hitting and pitching. We kind of ran out of pitchers today with a couple of pitchers hurting. We also definitely will need to work on our hitting, but we have a good bunch of boys and they gave a great effort.”
Avery’s next game in the 11 and 12 year old baseball district tournament will take place this Saturday.
