Bishop McGuinness drops Cherryville baseball in third round
CHERRYVILLE — Seeing Bishop McGuinness in the baseball brackets brought back bad memories for Cherryville junior Thomas Bess.
The Villains eliminated Bess’ Ironmen in the basketball playoffs each of the past two seasons, and here they were again, this time on the diamond.
“The first thing I started thinking was it wasn’t going to happen again,” Bess said. “And it did. They got me again.”
Bishop McGuinness scored all six of its runs in the fifth inning on its way to a 6-3 victory Friday, dispatching the Ironmen in the third round of the 1A state baseball playoffs.
The Villains (16-9) advance to the fourth round against Albemarle (19-9), 12-2 winner over Bessemer City. Cherryville ends its season at 16-9 after reaching at least the third round for a fourth straight year.
The Ironmen could have been moving on had they avoided the disaster that struck in the fifth. Bishop McGuinness scored six runs on six hits that inning and had only one other hit the entire game.
A home run from an unlikely source sparked the Villains’ big inning. With two outs, No. 9 hitter Chris Dolge stepped to the plate, took a swing at his first pitch and crushed it to left for a three-run homer and a 3-2 lead. It was the freshman’s first home run at any level.
“It was a ball,” Dolge said. “I just swung.”
The bomb fueled the top of the lineup, as three of the next four batters connected for a hit and the other drew a walk. Will Shaw’s run-scoring double gave the Villains a 4-2 lead and Chris Kane’s single drove in two runs for a 6-2 advantage.
“It just kind of snowballed from (the home run),” Cherryville coach Scott Heavner said. “We couldn’t close out the inning. Other than that inning, (Blake) Mosteller threw well. He shut them down.”
Mosteller, though, was saddled with the loss after giving up six earned runs on seven hits and striking out seven. Dylan Hastings and Alex Van Dyke contributed two hits each to Cherryville’s seven-hit effort. Ryan Craft, Bess and Mosteller added one hit each.
Cherryville took a 2-0 lead in the fourth, with Bess scoring on a delayed steal and Mosteller reaching home on Dylan Hastings’ sacrifice fly. After Bishop McGuinness took the lead, Dylan Hastings doubled in courtesy runner Lindsey Shealy for another Cherryville run in the sixth, but the Ironmen managed nothing else the rest of the way.
The game ended the high school careers of Cherryville seniors Van Dyke, Shealy, Brandon Heavner and Kevin Elmore.
“We’ve got the bulk and the nucleus coming back next year, but it’s tough to lose, especially when you lose at home and felt like things were going our way,” Heavner said.
Right-hander Mike Urban (5-3) pitched the win, yielding three runs on six hits and striking out three in five-plus innings. Matt Rembielak pitched his fifth save after surrendering a hit to his first batter but retiring his final five.
Seven different Bishop McGuinness players had one hit each.
You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.
