Avery assistant coach Bill Daniels gives last-minute instructionsto the Avery 9-10 Baseball All-Stars before taking the field
against Wilkes American Monday night.
against Wilkes American Monday night.
(WILKESBORO) Avery County Little League District Tournament play is underway in four separate divisions. On Monday night, the 9-10 year old baseball All-Stars traveled to Westwood Park in Wilkesboro to take on a team from the Wilkes American League, falling in five innings by a 10-0 final score.
Wilkes struck early for a pair of runs off Avery starter Brett Smith, and rallied in the bottom of the 2nd inning to score three runs with two outs to grab a 5-0 lead. Avery put a runner on base in each of the first two frames, but could not drive them in.
Smith settled down in his final inning of work and worked out of a jam to hold Wilkes scoreless. Avery meanwhile looked to cut into the lead in the bottom of the third. Luke Crowe led off with a base hit, and Josh Cook followed up with a walk to put two runners on. The Wilkes pitching staff showed poise, however, striking out the final two hitters to get out of trouble and hold Avery without a run.The contest got away from the Avery club in the top of the fifth frame. Avery reliever Josh McClellan came on to pitch and had difficulty with finding the strike zone.
Wilkes benefited from four walks and a base on balls to score a pair of runs. Jordan Lecka was called on by head coach Kevin McClellan to pitch, and the right hander was able to throw strikes. Wilkes unfortunately was able to connect on the pitches with a couple of hits to score three additional runs.
Avery could have found themselves in deeper trouble had it not been for periods of great defense. Catcher Daniel Hartless gunned down two separate runners trying to steal third base, and the Avery club turned a 1-3-2 double play to deny a Wilkes runner coming home on a bunt.
Avery could not rally in the bottom of the fifth for a run to extend the contest, as Wilkes took the five-inning win by the ten-run mercy rule.
"We just couldn't hit the ball tonight," Avery head coach Kevin McClellan said after the loss. "The boys played really good defense, but we just weren't able to put the bat on the ball and score runs. It's something we'll definitely work on before our next game."
Avery returned to action on Wednesday evening and fell 8-7 in a hard-fought, close contest against the Wilkes County American 2 club. A bases loaded walk in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the game-winner in Newland as the Avery team hit the ball well but came up just short.
"You hate to lose a game that way. I'd almost rather lose a game by 15 runs than lose a game like that. It's heart-breaking for the kids and for me," Avery coach Kevin McClellan admitted after the contest. "We worked on our fielding a lot, and it showed. Jacob (Daniels) was unreal in the outfield today. We caught balls and played good defense, and hit the ball well. It just wasn't our night tonight."
On Wednesday evening the Avery 11 and 12 year old boys baseball All-Star team played its opening contest in Collettsville against perennial power Morganton. The game was scoreless for the first two innings of play, but Morganton's bats heated up in the third frame to the tune of nine runs. Avery was unable to answer the onslaught with its own bats. Morganton added a tenth and final run in the fourth frame and Avery was unable to plate a run, forcing the enforcement of the ten-run mercy rule.
The 11-12 year old baseball squad drops to the consolation bracket and will return to action the week following the July 4th holiday.
