Ghorley hits, pitches Ashbrook to win over Huss
GASTONIA - Ashbrook couldn't have picked a better time for its first shutout of the season Friday. Two days after a disappointing non-conference loss at South Iredell, the Green Wave unloaded on rival Hunter Huss in an 11-0 mercy-rule-shortened victory.
The game came in the Big South 3A/4A Conference finale for both teams. But each team has important games on the horizon.
Ashbrook (11-11, 6-6), in pursuit of a Class 4A wild card playoff berth, hosts Olympic on Monday and visits North Lincoln on Tuesday.
Huss (5-17, 2-10) hosts North Gaston Monday night at 7 in a playoff game to determine the third and final Class 3A playoff berth for the league. Huss won a coin flip for the right to host the game.
For Ashbrook, Josh Ghorley started and pitched four innings of three-hit ball to improve to 3-1 and blasted his area-high eighth homer to highlight a six-run second inning that pushed the Green Wave to a 9-0 lead.
"This was a big game and it was even bigger because of (Wednesday's loss)," said Ashbrook coach Guy Spader, whose team snapped a three-game losing streak. "We've still got a shot at the playoffs and we played good tonight. It was good for our team and good for our confidence."
Ashbrook's path to qualification is total number of victories. A year ago, a team with nine victories was able to qualify as a wild card in the Western N.C. 4A bracket.
In Friday's game, after Ghorley retired three of four batters in the first inning, the Green Wave gave the senior right-hander all the support he would need in the bottom of the inning with four runs - all after two outs.
Brandon Harris' double to left-center began the rally. He scored on Ghorley's RBI single to center. Then, with the bases loaded, Kyle Tate's long fly ball to centerfield was misplayed into a bases-clearing three-run double.
In the second, Harris had a two-run single, Ghorley stroked a three-run homer and Tate added an RBI single. Tate added an RBI single in the third to cap a 3-for-3, five-RBI night.
Also for Ashbrook, Harris, Ghorley and Thomas Rhodes had two hits apiece.
"They'd scored 31 runs against us the first two games, so I knew it'd be hard to keep them down," said Hunter Huss coach Terry Radford, whose team lost 18-1 and 11-0 to Ashbrook in the regular season, but beat the Green Wave 14-13 in the mid-season county tournament. "I thought having Tyler (Radford) throw some breaking stuff would keep them off balance. But our problem was that we didn't hit the ball. Ghorley threw good for them."
Trey Ferry's double led Huss' three-hit offense.
HH 000 00 - 0 3 1
A 461 0x - 11 11 0
W - Josh Ghorley (3-1). L - Tyler Radford (2-4). HR - A, Ghorley (8).
