Cherryville second baseman Cameron Lovelace talks with pitcher Bryan DaCanal in Tuesday's game.
By John Clark/The Gazette
Ironmen beat Jackets, wrap up share of SPC
CHERRYVILLE - Bessemer City and Cherryville folks have come to expect nothing less than the closest of games when they meet on the baseball diamond.
After playing a pair of one-run games earlier this season, the rivals staged another nail-biter in Monday's regular-season finale. This time, a single run proved the difference again as Cherryville wrapped up the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference championship with a 4-3 win at Fraley Field.
"It's Cherryville-Bessemer City. That speaks for itself," Cherryville coach Scott Heavner said. "You never know what you're going to get except you know you're going to get two teams that are going to go at it really, really hard."
Cork Parks's RBI single in the fifth inning proved to be the eventual game winner as the Ironmen (16-7, 12-2) finished in a first-place tie with West Lincoln atop the SPC standings.
The championship marks Cherryville's second in a row under third-year coach Heavner and 19th in the program's storied history.
The Ironmen now take the SPC's top seed into the 1A state playoffs, in which they'll open at home against a yet-to-be-determined wild card opponent.
They'll enter the postseason on a high note after pulling out a tight victory in a playoff-type atmosphere.
Parks' single up the middle broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the fifth after Bessemer City had knotted the score with two runs in the top half of the inning. The hit plated Seth Freeman, who scored his third run and finished 2-for-4 with two stolen bases.
Parks' only hit of the night made him a winner on the mound in relief. The junior right-hander entered for starter Bryan DaCanal with two outs in the fifth and finished with three strikeouts, two walks (one intentional) and three hits in 2 1/3 innings of work.
Bessemer City made sure it wasn't easy. The Yellow Jackets had runners on first and third with two outs in the top of the seventh when they sent Thomas Stanley to the plate.
Stanley has already been the hero against Cherryville once this season. He's the one who slugged a ninth-inning walk-off home run in Bessemer City's 2-1 win in the county tournament.
Cherryville was ready this time.
Parks threw a 2-0 changeup, Stanley hit a high pop-up and DaCanal quickly backed up to make the catch at third, ending the game.
"When the game's on the line like that, those plays are hard, but I was able to get to it," DaCanal said.
Freeman and DaCanal tallied two hits each to lead Cherryville's eight-hit night against starter Kyle Moore and reliever Michael Negus. DaCanal batted in Freeman with singles in the first and third.
Nate Thornburg's fourth-inning double drove in Chandler Benfield for the Ironmen's other run.
DaCanal yielded just two hits while striking out two and walking four in a no-decision after 4 2/3 innings.
Moore surrendered three runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings for Bessemer City. Negus retired his first two batters but yielded the go-ahead run and three hits the rest of the way.
Jonathan Henderson batted 2-for-3 with a two-run single and Negus had a sacrifice fly to score Travis Blake for Bessemer City's other run.
The Yellow Jackets (11-13, 7-7) end the regular season in fifth place in the league, but will take the SPC's fourth seed into the 2A playoffs.
BC 000 120 0 - 3 5 2
C 101 110 x - 4 8 1
W - Parks (5-3). L - Negus (6-4). HR - none.
You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.
