Cherryville rolls past Lincolnton, stays undefeated in SPC
CHERRYVILLE – With the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference race expected to be as tight as any in its history, having a three-game week of league games can be a daunting challenge.
It wasn’t this week for Cherryville, as the Ironmen went 3-0 after an 11-0 victory over visiting Lincolnton Friday night at Fraley Field.
"It’s huge for us," said Cherryville coach Scott Heavner, whose team improved to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference. "I’m proud of the way we played this week. We’ve worked, the pitching’s been good and the hitting’s coming around a bit."
Friday’s victory wasn’t as easy as it looks.
Lincolnton trailed 2-0 and had the potential tying runs in scoring position in the top of the fourth inning before Cherryville helped put a quick end to the game by mercy rule with a nine-run bottom of the fourth.
"We made an error and some mistakes and it just snowballed," said Lincolnton coach Cole Sigmon, whose team fell to 1-5, 1-1. "And once it got going, it really got going."
Cherryville won behind a balanced eight-hit offense and the two-hit, 13-strikeout pitching of right-hander Blake Mosteller. Mosteller, who had previously earned two saves this season, including Monday’s 7-3 victory over West Lincoln, didn’t allow a hit until the fourth, walked one and hit a batter in firing Cherryville’s third shutout of the season.
"I’m pleased with where we are," said Heavner, whose Ironmen beat Highland Tech Tuesday night in its other league victory this week. "Pitching and defense is ahead of hitting right now, but we’re progressing."
Getting a fast start in league play is more important than maybe ever before because of the expected balance in the league.
"There’s probably four or five teams that are going to challenge for our conference," said Heavner, whose team has won the league twice in the past three seasons. "We’ve just got to go one at a time and hope we’re in the mix."
Mosteller helped himself early with a two-out double to plate the game’s first run. It was one of five doubles for the Ironmen on Friday night, as Brandon Heavner, Kevin Elmore, Alex Van Dyke and Morgan Costner also had two-base hits.
Ryan Craft had a game-high two hits and Craft, Heavner and Van Dyke had two RBI apiece. Thomas Bess also had a RBI single for Cherryville.
For Lincolnton, Spencer Rudisill’s two-out double and Drew Kirksey’s infield single were the hits. Left-hander Ryan Duncan started and went three-plus innings and picked up the loss.
