Late Goal Lifts Lady Vikings to First-Ever Victory over Hendersonville

The Avery Lady Vikings returned to the pitch on Thursday afternoon at MacDonald Stadium with a highly-anticipated matchup with perennial 1A soccer power Hendersonville. Avery held home-field advantage, but the Lady Bearcats seized momentum quickly in the match with a goal in the match's seventh minute to take a 1-0 lead.

In the final minute of the opening half, Emily Banner sent a cross pass in the front of goal where teammate Elyse Perry chipped a shot by the keeper to knot the score at 1-1.

At the half, the team was given the opportunity to discuss amongst themselves what strategy would work best for the second half. The coaches followed up the player input with emphasis on good first touches and the need to be more aggressive to the ball.

The coaches noted that Hendersonville's players were beating the Vikings to the ball and Avery was more reactive than proactive. Fine tuning the goals for the second half a bit further, Lady Vikings head coach Tom Evaul pointed out that their best player was their sweeper and therefore the Lady Vikings needed to bring the ball up the outside. Defensively the team opted to keep the ball away from the center of the field and work the wide sides of the field.

Throughout the game, the Lady Bearcats had several shots on goal which were just off, hitting the crossbar and coming back into play. Fortunately, the Vikings were able to clear the rebounds.

The Lady Bearcats outshot the Lady Vikings, especially in the second half, but most of their 20 shots on goal were wide, with keeper Mercedes Bentley coming up with a key save. Bentley had a solid effort in goal to help keep the Lady Vikings in the match. Avery had 13 shots on goal with eight saved by the Bearcat keeper.

Late in the game as the sky got darker and more threatening, it appeared that the coaches were going to have to decide on whether to play overtime or not. However, with twenty seconds left in the game, Cassie Bumgarner sent a ball forward to Banner, who scored the go-ahead goal for the Lady Vikings. Avery's defense stood tall in for the remainder of the match to take the well-earned 2-1 win.

For the Big Red, it was the first win against Hendersonville, who joined the Western Highlands Conference in 2005. The Lady Vikings move to 5-0 on the season, with a perfect 3-0 record in conference play.

Avery travels to West Caldwell this afternoon for a non-conference match.
(Editor's Note: Special thanks to Serena Smith for contributing to this report)

AJ-T Sports LIVE FROM... HOLMES CENTER

We are LIVE tonight from the Holmes Center in Boone for a college basketball postseason tournament doubleheader of action. The Appalachian Lady Mountaineers are hosting College of Charleston in the Women's Basketball Invitational, while the ASU men are preparing to take on the Pacific Tigers in the semifinals of the CollegeInsiders.com Basketball Tournament.

The Appalachian women come into their contest 21-12, while the College of Charleston Cougars are 21-11 overall. The winner will take on the winner of Texas A&M Corpus Christi/Memphis, also being played tonight.

We'll be providing updates periodically of the ladies' contest leading up to the men's tournament contest! In the meantime...

PREVIEWING ASU/PACIFIC

Appalachian returns home to take on the Pacific Tigers in a CBI semifinal contest after defeating Marshall 80-72 in Huntington, WV on Monday night. Donald Sims scored a team-high 30 points for the Black and Gold on 9-for-23 shooting, including four 3-pointers and a perfect 8 of 8 from the free throw line. Sims is the country's leading free-throw shooter, making an astounding 95% of his shots from the charity stripe this season.

Isaac Butts had a season-high 16 rebounds as Appalachian out-rebounded the Thundering Herd 47-28 in the win, a season-high team total for the Mountaineers.

ASU's 24th win on Monday night moved the team within one of the program record, set during the 2006-07 season.

Pacific advanced to this evening's semifinal after a 63-59 win over Northern Colorado in their quarterfinal game Monday night. Pacific upended Loyola Marymount on the road 86-76. Pacific forces 11.5 turnovers per game and 5.4 team steals per contest. Pacific comes into the game winners of 5 of its last 6 contests, the lone defeat coming at the hands of Long Beach State.

The winner of tonight's game takes on the winner of the other semifinal between Creighton and Missouri State. ASU would play on the road if they win this evening.

Update #1: In the ladies' contest, the Lady Mountaineers are in control, leading Charleston 31-15 with 4:52 to play in the first half. Ashlen Dewart has eight points, while Anna Freeman has scored six and Courtney Freeman has scored five for the Lady Apps.

Update #2: The ASU Lady Mountaineers lead Charleston 40-18 at halftime. A dominant performance thus far for the Black and Gold.

Update #3: Appalachian's women lead Charleston 59-39 with 8:53 left to play in the second half. Charleston has had no answer for the play of Ashen Dewart, who has 16 points, and Anna Freeman, who is also in double-figures with 12 points. No Charleston player has reached double-figures yet in the contest.

Update #4: Appalachian's ladies cruise to a decisive 77-58 victory and advances to the finals of the WBI Postseason Tournament. Ashlen Deward had 25 points and six rebounds in the victory, while Anna Freeman added 17 points and 9 rebounds. Catherine Williams and Chakeitha Weldon added eight points apiece.

Appalachian held a decisive advantage rebounding the ball and exploited COC's lack of size, primarily in the paint.

The second half of the doubleheader from Holmes Center is coming up next, as the ASU Mountaineer men will host Pacific.

Update #5: It's GAME TIME from Holmes Center as ASU hosts Pacific!

16:55 left in the first half and ASU takes a 30-second timeout following a 9-2 run by the Tigers to open the ball game. Joe Ford has four points inside, while guard Demetrece Young has five quick points. Kellen Brand has the only deuce for the Mountaineers.

Update #6: With 13:38 to play in the half the Mountaineers are struggling from the field as Pacific leads 16-4. App is struggling from the perimeter and getting only one shot.

Update #7: 11:00 exactly to play before halftime. Pacific leads ASU 21-7. Young has seven for the Tigers, with four apiece from Sam Willard and Joe Ford. Kellen Brand has five points to lead the Mountaineers, with the other bucket from Ryann Abraham.

Update #8: Pacific leads ASU 25-13 at the 7:36 mark of the opening half. Kellen Brand has seven points to lead the Mountaineers, while leading scorer Donald Sims has been held scoreless for the first 12:24 of this game.

Sam Willard has six points for the Tigers to go with Young's eight. Six Tigers in all have scored thus far, while only three Mountaineers have registered points on the scoreboard.

With 5:50 left to play in the half, Coach Buzz Peterson has to take a 30 second timeout as Pacific opens its lead up to 15 points at 31-16. Sims has his first points on a three-pointer, but the size of the Tigers has been a factor thus far, as well as shooting a great percentage from the field.

Update #9: Pacific continues to control the contest, leading 35-18 with 3:27 left before intermission. Sam Willard has been the story thus far with 14 points. Kellen Brand continues to lead ASU with seven points.

Update #10: Play is stopped with 1:37 to play in the half while the officials look at a video monitor regarding a hard foul on the floor. The officials and coaches huddled at midcourt to discuss the play with Pacific leading 35-19. After conferring, the officials call an intentional foul on Terrell Smith. As the luck of the Apps thus far, ASU misses both free throws.

Young hits a three-pointer for the Tigers in the final 30 seconds to close the scoring. Pacific leads 38-19 at halftime. A large deficit for the Mountaineers to overcome with 20 minutes left to play. Donald Sims is held to only three points in the half, while the Tigers have both Young (11) and Willard (14) in double-figures. Kellen Brand leads ASU with 8 first-half points.

Update #11: 15:13 left in the game and ASU trails 45-28. In an unrelated note, congrats to Butler University, taking down another #1 NCAA seed in Syracuse. It's been a tough season for the favored teams thus far.

Update #12: Appalachian has ratcheted up the defense, allowing only seven points through the first eight minutes of the second half. ASU has cut the lead to 12 at 47-35 with 10:38 left to play. Donald Sims has reached double-figures with 13 points and the ASU fans are back in the game as the Mountaineers forge a comeback.

Update #13: Pacific comes out of the previous media timeout on a 7-4 run to extend its lead back to 15 points at 54-39. A Joe Ford dunk prompts ASU head coach Buzz Peterson to take a full timeout to talk to his squad. 9:07 left from the Holmes Center.

Update #14: Donald Sims simply will not let the Mountaineers go down without a fight. Sims has 22 for the game, including a rebound and three-point basket to cut the Pacific lead back to a dozen at 56-44 and induce a Tigers time out with 6:03 left in the contest. ASU is 5 of 9 from three point range in this half to keep the team close.

Update #15: A long exchange saw Appalachian have three tip-in opportunities come up short before the ball found its way to Jeremi Booth, who drained a three-pointer to finally cut the Pacific lead under ten at 58-49 with 4:53 left. Looks like an exciting finish!

The Holmes Center is ON ITS FEET after a basket by Brand off a steal and a Nathan Healy bucket cuts the lead to five points at 58-53. Final media timeout with 3:52 to play. The crowd is frenetic! The tip-around and eventual three-pointer has energized the Mountaineers, forcing a pair of turnovers since that point and securely gaining momentum of the contest. Awesome atmosphere for a great completion to this one!

Update #16: Under two minutes to play and ASU is down 62-53 after four Pacific free throws and a pair of ASU missed shots. Tigers look to run clock.

Appalachian has gone cold from the field in the past two and a half minutes and Pacific appears headed to the win leading by 11, but a quick AJ Highsmith three-pointer cuts the lead to 64-56 with 53 seconds left to play.

Update #17: 64-56 Pacific leads with 33 seconds left. A final shot by ASU is no good, Pacific rebounds and will run out the clock for the 64-56 victory. The Mountaineers will end their season with a final record of 24-13, with a 13-5 SoCon record and SoCon North Division championship under its belt. Quite a fine first season for Coach Peterson to build on in his first year back at the helm of the Appalachian men's basketball program.

Sims finished with 22 for the Mountaineers, with 12 from Kellen Brand. Sam Willard scored 22 to lead Pacific, with 12 from Demetrece Young and eight from Joe Ford.

Thanks again for reading the Blog!! Game photos will be posted shortly!

Fan Reminder Regarding Tonight's ASU Basketball Doubleheader

The Appalachian State University Sports Information Department and the NC DOT has asked us to remind fans attending this evening's CIT semifinal game at the Holmes Center (especially any fans coming from the Lenoir/Charlotte area) of the following information:

US-321 between Blowing Rock and Lenoir will close at 7 p.m. Thursday due to construction. Fans coming from the Lenoir/Hickory/Charlotte areas for Thursday's postseason basketball doubleheader at the Holmes Center (women vs. Charleston at 5:30 p.m., men vs. Pacific at 8 p.m.) are encouraged to arrive early to beat the closure and have an alternate route planned for the trip home (321 won't reopen until 6 a.m. Friday).

Wiseman Shines at Blue/White All-Star Game

Sara Wiseman concluded her prep basketball career with an eye-opening performance, hauling down a phenomenal 19 rebounds in last Friday night’s Rhododendron Blue/White All-Star Girls Basketball Classic at T.C. Roberson High School in Asheville.

Wiseman was one of 20 ladies selected from the Mountains region to participate in the contest which serves as a fund raiser to benefit mentally-handicapped children in Western North Carolina.

In addition to the game-high rebound total, Sara added five points and eight blocks in just 20 minutes of floor time as the Blue squad decimated the White squad 85-49.

McDowell's Jaalen Corpening led all scorers with 24 points and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Reynolds' Karlee Taylor added 14 for the Blue girls.

Pisgah's Baley Woods and Hiwassee Dam's Kareen Abling each netted a team-high 10 points for the White.

“It was a lot different having girls that I haven’t usually played with and usual routine. It was good to see the different girls and experience how they do their workouts,” Wiseman said of her experience in the event. “Being able to get to know the girls on my team was a great experience.

It was good to face the competition I played against and see some of the players I might be playing with or against if I play in college.”

Sara’s family is extremely proud of her accomplishments in her prep career and selection to the regional All-Star game.

“We’re extremely proud of Sara’s accomplishments both on and off the court. She has worked very hard for many years on her basketball skills and it is very rewarding to see it pay off,” Sara’s father Jack remarked following the game. “More importantly we are proud of her Christian faith and the life she lives.”

Along with Sara’s parents, Avery Lady Vikings head coach Missy Lyons has helped to develop Wiseman’s skills on the court and is proud of her successful career.

“Sara played against a lot of good post players at the Blue/White game. It was good for her to get to play against that caliber of player,” Avery Lady Vikings head basketball coach Missy Lyons said of Sara’s performance. “I’ve seen Sara dominate inside on the high school level against teams, like teams in our conference, that didn’t have a true post player. But I was pleased with how well she played in the game against and college-style post players. I felt Sara was one the most valuable players on the floor that night, as she did a great job of rebounding then making outlet passes to teammates for easy layups.”

Montreat College has expressed interest in Sara playing for them at the collegiate level, but many college coaches attended last Friday’s game and were treated to a rebounding clinic courtesy of Wiseman.

Sara admits she is still undecided on whether she wants to pursue basketball at the next level, but credits much of her success to the Avery High School girls basketball program as well as her coaches in youth basketball and traveling teams for giving her the foundation for success.

“I’m still deciding on whether I want to play basketball in college or pursue a degree in the medical field. I am taking some time to think it over before I make a decision,” Wiseman said. “I learned a lot through the Avery program about responsibility and working hard to be successful as a player. Basketball has been a big part of my life, and I continue playing traveling ball with coaches Joe Seegers and Mike Lacey, who has worked with me a lot on my post game. I’m sure once that season ends, the fact that my high school career is over will sink in.”

Congratulations to Sara Wiseman on a great prep career and awesome performance in last week’s Rhododendron Blue/White Classic!

Lady Vikings Blank Warlassies, Prepare for Busy Week of Conference Action

The Avery Lady Vikings took a while to get things going against the Owen Warlassies, with a lot of almost scoring drives occurring before they got a ball in the back of the net.

Wearing their road red, since they have no St. Patrick green to wear, the Vikings got their first score in the 20^th minute when stopper Katelynn Eudy proved that offense starts with the defense. Actually in soccer, defense is the responsibility of everyone on the field; however, in this case the defender was the first to score. Midfielder Mary Chesnut Smith assisted Eudy on the first score. Avery was not to get on the board again until the closing minutes of the first half.

In the 36^th minute, forward Melinda Eggers sent a ball across the face of the goal with such power that the Warlassies defense was not able to stop the ball, but had it bounce off the defender into the goal. If the defender had not gotten in the way, forward Jennie Elrod was in place to tap the ball in.

After a halftime talk with several areas on to work on, the coaching staff was alarmed when the Lady Vikings came out flat in the second half. With several early scoring chances, the Vikings couldn’t finish any of them. Although the Vikings continued to dominate, keeping the ball in their possession more often than not, it wasn’t until the 64^th minute that the Lady Vikings were able to score again. Defender Megan Robbins passed the ball to Smith, who was able to work her way through several defenders and put the ball behind the keeper. This score helped in part to make up for a shot earlier by Smith which hit the goal post and bounced away from the goal instead of into the goal.

This ended the scoring by the Vikings in the contest, but the defense kept the Warlassies out of the goal all night. The final score was 3-0, with another shutout for junior first-year keeper Mercedes Bentley, her third of the young season. The Vikings took 16 shots on goal in the first half and 21 in the second half. Bentley had 8 saves on the evening with the other three Warlassies shots going wide.

On Monday evening Avery was scheduled to welcome upstart Thomas Jefferson to MacDonald Stadium for the first home game of the 2010 season. The Gryphons have already shown the ability to be a conference contender with an upset of the Hendersonville Lady Bearcats two weeks ago. The contest was called just prior to kickoff due to inclement weather and rescheduled for May 7th at 6 p.m.

In addition to the Thomas Jefferson match, Avery is slated to host Hendersonville on Thursday the 24^th, travel to West Caldwell on Friday, March 26^th, and take on Polk County in Columbus on Monday, the 29^th. Details on each of this week’s matches can be found on the Avery Journal-Times Sports Blog at www.ajtsports.blogspot.com, as well as in next week’s print edition.

(Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Serena Smith for information used in compiling this report.)

Around the Diamond

Cranberry Middle School Baseball
The Cranberry baseball team lost its fourth straight game Thursday, a 7-2 loss against Harris at Mine Creek in Bakersville. However, Cranberry head baseball coach Phillip Greene was very much encouraged by the latter part of that game.

Starting the third inning down 6-0, Cranberry (0-4) battled back to within striking distance. Harris only scored one run the rest of the game, and the Wildcats had the bases loaded when they got their third out in the bottom of the sixth.

The sixth inning Greene called "the culmination of all the work we've done this year." "It was what I knew I had all along," he said.

Stetson Stafford pitched the fifth and sixth innings, while Austin Daniels started the game. Daniels bounced back from what Greene and others believed was a wrong call in the first inning, in which a Harris player was called safe.

Greene doesn't pin the loss on that controversial call, but he does think the game could have turned out differently. "After that point they [Harris] went on to score three or four runs in the first inning," said Greene. Daniels was rattled, he said, but according to the coach, the pitcher settled down.

"They fought hard to come back from something like that," Greene said of his squad.

The Wildcats' scores came from Gabe Stanley and Jeremiah Vance.

The Harris game came on the heels of 13-2 and 15-2 losses in a doubleheader against Bowman on Monday, March 15. Cranberry's next scheduled game is on Thursday, April 1.

Cranberry Middle School Softball
The Lady Wildcats, meanwhile, lost 10-1 on Thursday, also against Harris. Cranberry (0-4) starting pitcher Emily Brown pitched a solid effort, but the team struggled to get the bats going. Head coach Angel Dugger thought they did "100 percent better" in this game than they did two games ago at Cane River.

"The girls played awesome defensively," she said. "All of our outfielders made catches yesterday; every infielder had an awesome stop or catch."

The coach hopes the hitting will come around as the girls get more experience against unfamiliar pitchers. "Our girls scrimmaged for a little while [after the game], and as soon as the game was officially over, they started hitting everything," she said.

Last week's other game was a 24-2 loss at Bowman on Tuesday. The Lady Wildcats' next scheduled game is on Tuesday, March 30.

Avery Middle School Softball
The Avery Middle Lady Panthers played its second game of the season in Burnsville Thursday. East Yancey came away with the 11-2 victory.

"We hit the ball well; we made a lot of contact," said coach Chris Lecka. "Overall, I was pleased with the way they played."

Kylie Polsgrove and Shannon Smith scored runs for Avery (1-1). Lecka called East Yancey a "really good" team whose girls have been playing together a long time. "They play six or seven months out of the year together," he said. "And we play two months."

Lecka was pleased with pitchers Morgan Lecka and Ashley Yoder, as they held the opponents' runs enough to get Avery through a full seven innings.

The Lady Panthers are scheduled to host East Yancey on Thursday and Cane River on Monday. Both games are at the Turbyfill Complex at 4:00.

Avery Middle School Baseball
After beginning its season with a win, Avery Middle School’s baseball team dropped two games in the past week, 13-1 at East Yancey on Thursday, March 18^th and 13-6 at Johnson County on Friday the 19^th.

"We should have beat Johnson County," said coach Donnie Johnson of the most recent game. "We had too many errors early.”

Johnson said it was a typical early season game, and as with all the middle school teams this spring, they haven't had much practice outside yet.

Friday saw Avery (1-2) hit much better than they had in the previous games, said Johnson, adding that the Panthers need to put together a game in which both offense and defense perform well.

"Potentially, we have a pretty good shot," he said. "I think we can compete with everybody."

Ty Polsgrove pitched in the East Yancey game, and Daniel Childress in the Johnson County game.

The Panthers have a full schedule in front of them, hosting East Yancey on Thursday (at Newland Elementary, 4:00), visiting Harris on Friday (at Mine Creek, 4:00), hosting Cane River on Monday the 29^th (4:00), and playing at Ashe County on Tuesday the 30^th at 4:30 p.m.

Avery High School Junior Varsity Baseball
The Avery High School JV baseball team took advantage of the break in poor weather to play three road games last week.

The Vikings fell 9-0 on Tuesday at Owen. Dillon Nelson got the start for the Big Red against a potent Owen offense that tallied one run in the first, two runs in the second, three in the third inning, two runs in the fourth frame, and a run in the bottom of the fifth and final inning.

“I was proud of the adjustments our kids made through the game, with our pitchers throwing strikes at Owen,” JV head coach Samuel Phillips remarked. “Overall I was pleased with how we played.”

On Wednesday the Vikings traveled to Hampton and picked up a 4-2 win over the JV Bulldogs. Avery ventured to Crowe Park in Forest City on Friday afternoon to take on an improved Thomas Jefferson Gryphons club.

TJCA fielded an experienced group of players and captured a 9-3 win over the Vikings Trailing 7-0 in the top of the fourth frame, the Big Red’s bats heated up, plating three runs in the inning to cut the lead to 7-3. Thomas Jefferson regrouped, however, to score a pair of insurance runs in the fifth inning to secure the conference win.

“We seemed a little unprepared mentally for the game. A lot of it comes down to us being able to practice and get on the field,” Coach Phillips said after the game. “We didn’t execute in some aspects of the contest which hurt us in the later innings of the game. If we play as well as we’re capable of and we throw strikes, I feel that was a different ball game.”

Nathaniel Buchanan started the Thomas Jefferson contest on the mound, with Dustin Clark and Lane Smith coming on in relief. “Lane did a good job coming in the game. Unfortunately Dustin recorded two-thirds of an inning for us but couldn’t get the third out, so Lane came in to finish the inning and worked the rest of the game,” Coach Phillips explained.

The early season continues to be a trial-and-error process as the team balances its limited practice time thus far with making improvements to benefit the club.

“Right now I’m looking for people who can throw strikes and we’re try to figure out how to get our ducks in a row, giving these kids time on the field and making adjustments to help us down the road,” the coach said.

The JV squad played at Hendersonville this past Tuesday, and will travel to Polk County for a conference game this Friday.

Lady Vikings Softball Leads Off 2010 Season

The Avery Lady Vikings varsity softball team began its season with its first day to play or practice outdoors…a trip to Swannanoa to face the perennially-strong Owen Warlassies.

It was a tough first game for the squad as Owen shut out the Big Red 15-0. Avery struggled from the lack of actual play on an outdoor field, but received a solid first outing from starting pitcher Becca Biggerstaff.

Owen jumped on Avery for eight runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back as the Vikings were unable to garner a hit in the game.

“Becca pitched well for us. She wasn’t responsible for all 15 runs in the game,” Avery softball coach Stephen Bunger said after the game. “We made some mistakes that we’ll work to correct, and we played and hit the ball hard. Owen is a really stout team.”

On Friday afternoon the Lady Vikings had a chance to get in some practice during the break in the weather. The practice and lessons learned from the Owen game paid off with vast improvement on the diamond, as the Big Red earned a 6-4 win at Thomas Jefferson in a contest between 1A conference opponents.

Kaylea Davis was 2 for 4 in the game, including a single and run scored in the top of the first to get Avery on the board. Becca Biggerstaff took the mound for the Big Red, keeping the Gryphons scoreless for the first three innings.

The Lady Vikings added four runs in the top of the fourth inning to push its lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the third inning. Jessica Banner singled to lead off the inning. Two batters later Amber Clark walked and Brooke Buchanan singled. Davis blasted her second base hit, an RBI double to bring runners home and extend the Avery edge.

In the bottom of the inning Thomas Jefferson answered with three runs, but Biggerstaff recorded a big strikeout with the bases loaded to prevent further damage.

Three consecutive singles by Banner, Dewitt, and Clark plated Banner for the Lady Vikings’ sixth and final run of the contest in the top of the fifth inning.

Biggerstaff held TJCA to one hit over the fifth and sixth innings, but ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh. The Gryphons plated a run to cut the lead to 6-4 and put two runners on base with just one out. Avery battened down the hatches and recorded the final two outs of the game to preserve the two-run decision.

“Becca pitched really well. She fought hard, dug down deep, and got the outs she needed to get,” Coach Bunger said after the win. “Thomas Jefferson fought back, but our girls showed a lot of heart in finishing the game and getting the win. The Owen game on Tuesday helped give us some work on the field and showed us things that we needed to work on to get better. We have potential to do fairly well this year.”

Avery’s junior varsity girls team played only one contest this week, its season-opener at Owen where the Warlassies took a 34-0 win in three innings. A number of strong hits by the Warlassies spoiled an otherwise strong debut from Avery starter Paige Henderson.

The Avery Lady Vikings fell 10-0 in five innings at Hendersonville this past Tuesday, and return to the diamond at Polk County this Friday, March 26^th.

Baseball Downs ‘Dogs, Drops Conference Contests

The Avery varsity baseball team spent a busy week on the diamond with three games in four days last week.

Last Tuesday, March 16^th, the Vikings opened Western Highlands Conference play with a game at Owen High School, falling by a 10-0 score in four innings.

Avery threatened to score in both the first and second innings by moving runners to first and second base, but Owen defense and starting pitcher Johnathan Grove quelled both opportunities.

Owen scored three runs in the first inning and three in the second frame, with a run in the third and another three in the fourth and final frame to earn the win. The Owen offense mustered only four hits for the game against Avery pitchers Daniel Huff, Jared Clark, and Steven Daniels.

“We used a rotation of pitchers in the game to give Owen only one look at a pitcher, and we played halfway decent at Owen, even though the score doesn’t show it,” Avery head baseball coach Benny Wellborn said after the contest. “We pitched well and had seven strikeouts on a pretty good hitting Owen team. Unfortunately we were putting pitchers in during difficult situations, like with the bases loaded. If you look at things, the actual score probably should have been 6-0, and that’s with a three-run home run. We made some mistakes that cost us big.”

On St. Patrick’s Day the Vikings ventured across the state line to Hampton (TN) to take on the Bulldogs, winning an exciting game 11-10.

Dustin Childress got the starting nod for the Vikings and pitched well with 11 strikeouts, included six in the first three innings, in a complete-game effort.

Avery threatened in the first inning by loading the bases, but was unable to cash in for any runs. Hampton also had an early opportunity in the bottom half of the inning, but left two runners stranded.

The Bulldogs drew first blood in the bottom of the second inning, scoring a run despite a pair of other potential runs getting out at home plate in the frame.

The Vikings took their first lead at 2-1 in the top of the third. A leadoff double from catcher Steven Daniels was followed by an RBI single from Jared Clark. Jack Buchanan reached base on a throwing error and Remington Austin singled. Clark came around to score, giving the Vikings a 2-1 advantage.

Hampton continued to play hard and regained a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third, but Avery answered with a four-run fourth inning as the Vikings batted around in the frame. Five hits and a pair of walks sparked the rally as Danny Cole, Steven Daniels, Jared Clark, and Jack Buchanan each came around the diamond to plate runs that gave the Vikings a 6-3 margin.

Undaunted, Hampton responded with its own four-run outburst to lead 7-6, but the Big Red offense continued to produce, scoring a tying run in the top of the fifth to make the score 7-7. Childress retired the Bulldogs 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning and the Vikings scored twice in the top of the sixth to lead 9-7.

Hampton cut the deficit to 9-8 on an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth, but Avery picked up much needed insurance runs in the seventh thanks to the bottom of the batting order. Luke Pittman drew a walk to lead off the inning, followed by a double by Dustin Childress, a single by C.J. Vance, and a single from Jack Buchanan.

The runs proved valuable as Hampton struck back for two in the bottom of the final frame, but Childress induced a groundout from Hampton cleanup batter Taylor Edwards to end the game and pick up the win.

“The guys battled in a back and forth game. We caught fire and showed heart and emotion,” Coach Wellborn stated after the win. “We made some mistakes but were able to capitalize on some of their mistakes, and I give our guys credit for that.”

C.J. Vance and Dustin Childress each picked up two hits, while Jared Clark and Steven Daniels combined to go 6 for 8 from the plate in the contest.

On Friday afternoon Avery traveled to Forest City to take on Thomas Jefferson in a 1A duel. Thomas Jefferson took advantage of some Viking miscues to grab an early lead. Avery battled back to cut the lead, but fell in an 8-5 loss.

The Vikings went down in order in the first frame, while the Gryphons struck for three in the bottom of the inning off Avery starter Daniel Huff to take a 3-0 lead.

Huff helped his own cause with a leadoff double in the top of the second but was left stranded as Gryphon starter Caleb Bishop struck out the side to end the rally. TJCA also saw its leadoff hitter reach safely in the bottom of the second, but Huff induced a groundout and struck out two batters to keep the game a three-run affair.

Avery’s offense began clicking in the top of the third after a one-out double by Luke Pittman. Danny Cole singled and stole second, and Ethan Sluder knocked in both runners with a double through the gap in left center field, cutting the lead to only one at 3-2.

TJCA picked up a pair of runs in the bottom of the third on an RBI single from Mark Trimble. Trimble managed to himself score after a pair of wild pitches thrown by Viking reliever Jared Clark, boosting the Gryphon advantage to 5-2.

Avery stranded runners in both the fourth and fifth innings and was unable to score. In the bottom of the fourth, TJCA batted around the order and extended its lead with three runs to 8-2.

The greatest threat for a big inning from the Vikings came in the top of the sixth, when three runs crossed the plate. A pair of singles led off the inning. After a walk from C.J. Vance, Luke Pittman came through with a two-run single scoring Dillon Beam and Jack Buchanan. Two batters later Vance scored on a Sluder single to cut the lead to three.

TJCA eventually retired the side with no further damage, and held Avery scoreless in the top of the seventh to seal its first-ever Western Highlands Conference baseball victory.

“They got three in that first inning and jumped on us. We battled a bit but we’re struggling hitting in key situations and over-swinging a little bit,” a disappointed Coach Wellborn said following the loss. “Ethan got on track and hit the ball well tonight. Luke hit the ball a little bit, and found another pitcher in Dillon who can throw strikes. He hasn’t even thrown a bullpen from us. Three games put us in a tough position, but we’ve got to do the little things in order for us to win, and right now we’re struggling to do that.”

The Vikings fell 11-0 in five innings in a conference game at Hendersonville Tuesday afternoon. The squad will look to get back on the winning track against defending conference champion Polk County in Columbus on Friday afternoon.

Avery Soccer Match with TJCA Rescheduled

Avery's women's soccer match against Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy postponed from Monday, March 22nd has been rescheduled to May 7th at 6 p.m. at MacDonald Stadium.

The team's next contest will be a home match on Wednesday, March 24th against 1A conference foe Hendersonville.

ASU Advances past Marshall

Courtesy of Appalachian Sports Information

HUNTINGTON, W. Va - Isaac Butts hauled in a season-high 16 rebounds and Donald Sims connected on four three-pointers and all eight free throw attempts to lead Appalachian State University men’s basketball past Marshall in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament quarterfinal on Monday night.

Sims scored 30 points on 9-of-23 shooting and sank several late free throws to help the Mountaineers (24-12) to an 80-72 victory over the top-seeded Thundering Herd. The junior guard added six rebounds and three assists in the contest.

Butts’ 16 boards were just one portion of ASU’s season-best 47, as the Apps held Marshall (24-10) to just 28 in the game. Jeremi Booth and Josh Hunter also grabbed six rebounds each in the victory.

Though Appalachian extended its lead to as many as 19 points midway through the second half, it was a different story before the intermission. The Mountaineers sank just two of their first 10 attempts from the field and fell behind by seven points early on in the contest.

The Apps bounced back from the rough shooting start to sink 13-of-23 to close out the half at 45.5 percent, including 7-of-12 from downtown.

The run continued into the second half as ASU scored 11 of the first 14 points after the break. From there, the margin remained in double figures until a nine-point Herd run cut the score to 67-58 with 5:15 on the clock. The score was never any closer than eight points down the stretch as the Apps sank 11-of-12 free throws in the game’s final four minutes.

ASU’s big men battled foul trouble throughout the contest, as four post players accounted for seven of the team’s eight first-half infractions, and 13-of-20 in the game.

Kellen Brand reached double-figure points with 15 in the game on 5-of-9 shooting while Butts and Booth added nine each.

The Apps shot 43.5 percent in the game and sank 9-of-19 treys. The squad was proficient from the charity stripe as well, sinking 17-of-20 free throws.

Marshall shot 47.4 percent from the floor but 36.8 from beyond the arc. Tyler Wilkerson led MU with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Dago Pena hauled in six boards.

The Mountaineers return home to host the winner of tonight’s Northern Colorado-Pacific game in the tournament semifinal on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.