By David Rogers. WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A record-setting performance by the High Country’s Andrew Colley highlighted the 26th running of the Cook Medical Beat the Heat Elite 5K on July 12 — and a win by his wife, Tristin (Van Ord) Colley, in the Women’s Division completed a storybook day for the Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance professional running team.
Andrew Colley is the first and only runner to ever finish the race under 14 minutes, crossing the finish line in 13:53.36 for the slightly more than 3.1 miles course. The previous Beat the Heat Elite 5K record was established in 2017 by Luis Vargas (14:08.40).
But Colley’s performance also establishes a new North Carolina state record for a road race 5k, previously set by Donnie Cowart on June 3, 2022, in the China Grove 5K.
While most of the 26 Men’s elite competitors were from North Carolina, the top 10 included athletes from Charlottesville, Va., Pittsburgh, Pa., and Atlanta, Ga., as well as Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Cary, Lexington, and Winston-Salem.
Colley finished more than a half-minute ahead of the No. 2 elite competitor, Graham Crawford (14:26.74), 32, of Charlottesville, Va.
The Beat the Heat Elite 5K course is fully contained within the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds with plenty of viewing options.
More than 700 recreational runners also competed in a separate race, the Beat the Heat 5K run a little earlier in the evening on a nearby different course, also including parts of the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds. Both course are USATF Certified 5K venues.
In the Women’s Division of the Cook Medical Beat the Heat 5K, former Appalachian State track and cross country star Tristin (Van Ord) Colley, now also a ZAP Endurance team member, kept things in the family by running away with the distaff title. Her time of 16:16.78, was just five seconds shy of the Beat the Heat Elite 5K women’s record of 16:11, set by Blake Phillips Russell in 1999. The North Carolina state 5K road race record for a female is 15:50, set by Laura Mykytok in the Winston-Salem hosted AT&T Long Distance 5K open division, on Aug. 27, 1994.
The No. 2 runner behind Tristin Colley in the women’s race was Cleo Boyd, of Charlottesville, Va., 27 seconds behind. ZAP Endurance had a second team member in the women’s race, Annmarie Tuxbury, who crossed the line at No. 6, in 17:31.23.
Tristin Colley’s mile pace for the completed race was 5:14.
For the wins, each of the Colleys picked up first place prize money of $1,000, plus bonus cash for certain benchmarks, according to the Beat the Heat 5K website. Andrew earned a bonus of $100 for running under 15 minutes, as well as $200 for setting a new Beat the Heat race record.
Tristin also qualified for a time standard record, $100 for completing the race under 17 minutes.
The Colley wins in Winston-Salem completed a storybook day for the Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance team. Earlier that morning, teammate Amanda Vestri earned her first national championship crown by winning the USATF Women’s 6K National Championship in Canton, Ohio.
By David Rogers. CANTON, Ohio (remote) — Maybe Amanda Vestri was proving the old adage, No. 2 tries harder.
Amanda Vestri (center) enjoys a podium moment with Annie Frisbie and Fiona O’Keefe. Photo by Michael Scott, courtesy of ZAP Endurance
After finishing as the runner-up in the 2024 USATF Women’s 6Km Championship, Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance’s Vestri, sponsored by Brooks athletic apparel, returned to Canton, Ohio a year later to finish No. 1 in the 2025 version of the event, crossing the finish line almost seven seconds ahead of the new No. 2, Annie Frisbie (Minnesota Distance Elite, Puma), 18:28.57 vs. 18:35.26.
Two other Puma-sponsored runners, Fiona O’Keefe (No. 3, 18:37.18) and Molly Born (No. 4, 18:40.01) were the only other professional runners to cross the line in under 19 minutes.
A year ago, Vestri completed the 6Km (3.728 miles) in 18:16. Weather might have played a part in the marginally slower time. When the gun went off to start the race at 8 am, the temperature was already approaching 90 degrees, with wind gusts exceeding 11 mph and 80 percent humidity.
The USATF-sanctioned national championships was run in conjunction with the Women’s 6K Festival. Vestri led from the start to the finish, running the first two miles at a 4:53 pace for each one and opening a three second lead over a group of four, including Frisbie, O’Keefe, Born and Edna Kurgat.
For the closing distance, Vestri used her High Country training to great effect, as described by the USATF account.
“Then, Vestri powered up the course’s largest hill to make the gap insurmountable. She led by seven seconds 5K and that was the margin of victory when she broke the tape at Centennial Plaza,” said the USATF account.
“I just kind of wanted to take it from the gun,” said Vestri, who moves into second place in the USATF Running Circuit point standings, according to the USATF account. “In these shorter races, I’m not really keen to just sit and run 5:15, 5:20. So, I just wanted to take it out. That’s the best way I run.”
While picking up a $6,000 check as the winner, Vestri moves on from road racing to the the track where she will compete in the USATF Outdoor National Championships in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, in Eugene, Ore., July 31 to Aug. 3.
By David Rogers. QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA (remote) — Crossing the finish line ahead of some 15,000 runners to finish No. 7 and only three and a half minutes behind a sextet of marathon athletes from Japan, Blowing Rock’s Josh Izewski was the first American to finish the 26.2 miles of the legendary Gold Coast Marathon in Queensland on July 6.
Photo courtesy of ZAP Endurance
On a course staged alongside some of Australia’s most famous surfing beaches, the Gold Coast is billed as Australia’s “flattest, fastest and most scenic” marathon course.
Izewski, 33, used a strong final 10K to finish at the top American in the field, moving up from No. 14 in the final six miles, to capture the No. 7 spot at the finish line. His time of 2:11:00 was just six seconds off his personal best for the distance, 2:10:54, established earlier this year in the Houston Marathon. It was Izewski’s second time competing in the Gold Coast event. In the second go around, he bettered his No. 5 mark in 2023 by 26 seconds (2:11:26).
Yuki Takei of Japan completed the course in 2:07:33 to capture the No. 1 title and collect not only the $20,000 first place prize money, but also picked up an additional $5,000 bonus for breaking the previous course record (2:07:40).
Takei was the first of six Japanese runners to sweep the first six spots, with Izewski crossing at No. 7 ahead of an international mix in the “top 25” that included 12 athletes from Japan, three from Kenya, two from Indonesia, two from New Zealand, two from Australia, and one each from the USA (Izewski), Canada, Great Britain and Mongolia.
Izewski’s No. 7 finish was a mere nine seconds behind Japan’s Yuto Imae.
By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Back in 1976, I was finishing up an undergraduate degree and some graduate studies at California State University, Bakersfield. One day, at lunch in the student union, I inserted myself into a conversation between two professors and asked a few relevant questions. And, just that quickly, I was hired as the replacement business manager of the school’s fledgling student newspaper. They promptly fired the guy they had, even after I said I would only take the job if I could do it my way.
It was one of those “What have you gotten yourself into?” moments. The Runner was a 4-page tabloid, being published once a month — and losing $750 every issue.
A rampant imagination filled my head with ideas on how to help the game gain popularity in the U.S.
All of the content was created free by the journalism students. All of the stories were converted to phototypesetting strips of text created by the Chancellor’s office, as a freebie for the journalism department. And the paper was laid out by unpaid students on pasteboards (Pre-printing processes were all manual. Desktop publishing was still future-think).
It didn’t take me long to figure out the losses stemmed from having a few thousand copies of The Runner printed by an outside company.
Well, within three months we were publishing a 24-32 page newspaper, twice a month, and earning a $3,000 profit for the school each edition… but that might be fodder for a different story.
A Private Office and Other Ambitions
This story is about leveraging resources. As the business manager of the student newspaper, I was given an office in the faculty towers, a desk, a file cabinet and, most importantly, a WATS telephone line.
Cellular phones were still in some inventor’s imagination. The world was tied together by land lines. A WATS line (Wide Area Telephone Service) was offered by AT&T to U.S. businesses, including universities, allowing them to make large volumes of long-distance calls at a flat monthly rate. So in my case, the college was picking up the tab.
For a wide-eyed, 24-year-old nobody from Bakersfield, it was all pretty surreal.
Sure, I used the WATS line to sell a bunch of advertising for the newspaper, but I also had a passion for what in those days was the emerging, but still under-the-radar sport of rugby football. Now with resources, a rampant imagination filled my head with ideas on how to help the game gain popularity in the U.S.
One of my early phone calls was to Roone Arledge, Jr., the President of ABC Sports from 1968 to 1986. He was a critical player in ABC’s rise as a competitor in network television. Think “Wide World of Sports,” and “the agony and the ecstasy” of athletic competition.
Arledge was in a meeting when I called, but he returned it the next day and courteously listened to my pitch. Not interested. Not a big enough audience, he said, discounting the fact that it was the second or third most popular sport, globally, behind another just-emerging sport in the U.S., soccer, and the U.S.-born basketball.
Undeterred, in late February 1976, I called NBC’s The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, in Burbank, Calif. I was put through to talent coordinator Howard Papush. After a brief introduction, Papush said he was intrigued and asked me come to the studio the next day.
So, I did. It was a commute of about two and a half hours, each way, from Bakersfield to Burbank back then, so not a casual undertaking. I arrived to the NBC studios only to find that Papush had called in sick that day. Disappointed, I turned around and spent another tankful of gas going back to Bakersfield, empty-handed.
Giving It A Second Chance
But Papush called me the next day, profusely apologizing. He asked me to come back the following day. To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive, but I said, “OK.”
After several cups of coffee on the early morning’s long drive down to Burbank, I arrived at his office for the 9 am meeting. Papush greeted me with, “Nice to meet you. I have 15 minutes.”
After driving seven and a half hours, counting the first trip down and back, and paying for a few tanks of gas on a starving college student’s budget, you can imagine my dismay at the “15 minutes” constraint — and the clock was ticking.
But I rallied to become my most engaging self, I guess, because an hour and a half later, Howard punched a button on his telephone intercom and told his secretary to cancel all the rest of his calls and meetings for the day. He took me on a tour of the studio, bought lunch, introduced me to some studio executives, as well as a few behind-the-scenes folks.
Come mid-afternoon, he explained that he had to get ready for that night’s taping of The Tonight Show, asking if I would like to stay and see the show. At first, I said no, because I had a paper to complete back at school. But I changed my mind when he said, “Johnny is coming out tonight, riding a donkey and singing ‘The Rhinestone Cowboy.’ And the featured guests are Don Rickles, Bob Hope, Robert Blake and Desi Arnez.”
It was an irresistible lineup, to be sure. So, a mere 20 minutes before showtime, Howard gave me instructions on how to go out the back of the studio, get around to the front of the building and to the ticket booth — and to ignore the crowds waiting in line.
I weaved my way through the bowels of the studio. I met Johnny Carson as he was finding his way in the opposite direction, just arriving. We briefly introduced ourselves and shook hands. When I got to the front entrance of the studio theatre, the crowd was immense. The line seemed to be wrapped around the city of Los Angeles but, per my instructions, I nervously went to the front of the line (ignoring the many frothy glares) and gave them my name.
I was face to face with human mortality, really, for the first time.
“Oh yes, Mr. Rogers, we have been expecting you,” said the smiling young woman in the box office as she waved to a nearby usher.
“Oh yes, Mr. Rogers, step right this way,” said the usher, who turned out to be the first of several who would greet me between the box office and my seat.
After the fourth, “Oh yes, Mr. Rogers, step right this way,” I was taken down the stairs of the still empty studio and directed to my seat. There, on the backrest was a printed sign with, “Reserved for Mr. David Rogers.” The seat was about five rows up, right in the center, with a perfect view of the monitors just above eye level and a firsthand look at what was happening onstage. I had been given arguably the best seat in the house, personalized, all accomplished within about 15 minutes of my saying I would stay for the show.
For a wide-eyed, 24-year-old nobody from Bakersfield, it was all very surreal.
Of course, I enjoyed it. Johnny Carson riding a donkey and singing “The Rhinestone Cowboy” with some cross-eyed buffoonery was a once in a lifetime experience and I was seeing it in person.
Meeting Mortality
We never got rugby on The Tonight Show but I called my new friend, Howard Papush, a few months later with another idea. Another friend, Natalie Dunn, had just become the first American to win the World Ladies Figure Skating Championships in roller skating, in Rome. An accomplished athlete and beautiful young woman, I looked at Natalie as a potential star.
Intrigued, Howard said to bring her down. We arrived and he was again very generous with his time. More for Natalie’s benefit, we toured the studio, on the way meeting a talented but very troubled rising star, Freddie Prinze. Best known for his leading role in the popular series, “Chico and the Man,” on this day Prinze was very drunk and extremely rude to the point that Howard kept apologizing for his behavior.
Natalie Dunn. Photo courtesy of the Bob Elias Hall of Fame.
This story has a doubly disappointing ending. My friend, the talent coordinator, decided the roller skating idea was a bit too clunky for a relatively small studio stage — and the talented but troubled Freddy Prinze took his own life the next day.
Other than losing my grandparents a decade earlier as a young teenager, Prinze was my first, face-to-face encounter with human mortality.
For me, aging has exposed an allergy to chocolate. Coffee is now a sedative and growing older has reaffirmed my distaste for lima beans, eggplant, cantaloupe and Brussels sprouts.
Needless to say, I am more in touch with the reality of human mortality than ever before, embracing the thoughts: “Don’t put things off. Enjoy today. Rediscover some of that youthful brashness leading to ‘Oh yes, Mr. Rogers, step right this way.’”
By David Rogers. ATLANTA, Ga. (remote) — Having a husband and wife tandem both finish in the top 62 runners out of more than 43,000 race participants is pretty heady stuff. Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance claimed that accomplishment on July 4 in the 2025 edition of the Atlanta Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race, with team members Andrew Colley and Tristin Colley completing the 6.2-mile course in the No. 7 and No. 62 overall positions, respectively, according to the published race results.
Andrew Colley finished the race in 28 minutes, 9 seconds (28:09), running the first mile in 4:30 and keeping the pace steady (each mile under 5 minutes) throughout the ups and downs of the course through Atlanta. He picked up the pace in Mile 2 (4:28) and Mile 3 (4:18, his fastest), slowed a bit in Mile 4 (4:42) and Mile 5 (4:51), which were largely uphill, then kicked into the finish with a 4:28 final mile.
“Andrew was the first American to finish,” noted ZAP Endurance head coach, Pete Rea. “A 28:09 on that course, in the heat, is a really solid run. And it was only four seconds slower than his best 10,000 meters on a regular track. Given the elevation changes in this course, that’s pretty impressive.”
One of ZAP Endurance’s distance running veterans, the 34-yearold Andrew didn’t have to wait long for his 30-yearold bride, Tristin, to finish in 33:34. She ran the first mile in 5:12, sped up in Mile 2 (5:08) and Mile 3 (5:09), slowed in Mile 5 (5:48), and reaccelerated into the finish with a 5:22 last mile.
“Tristin struggled a bit the last two, mostly uphill miles,” said Rea, “but overall it was a solid day for her. She is getting fitter by the week.”
It was the 56th running of the AJC Peachtree 20K Road Race event, organized and staged by the Atlanta Track Club. Race temperatures were hovering around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with 40 percent humidity.
By David Rogers. ORLANDO, Fla. — Summer is the season for “travel ball” for the athletically gifted and serious young men and women throughout the nation. That includes volleyball — and Watauga County student Ember Honeycutt joined with other 15-and-under female athletes from Western North Carolina to bring home a national championship runner-up trophy for their club, the Hickory-based Carolina Select Volleyball Club 15U Black (CSVC 15U Black).
CSVC 15U Black libero Ember Honeycutt is all smiles after her team finished runner-up out of 158 teams in the AAU Nationals. Photo courtesy of Josh Honeycutt
Competing in the Gold bracket of the National 15U Club Division, Honeycutt and her teammates finished the 4-day tournament at the Orlando Convention Center with a 13-1 record, the only loss coming in the championship game where they lost to the Midwest Elite 15-1, 18-25, 25-21, 15-6.
“After winning the first set, our girls just ran out of steam in losing the No. 2 and No. 3 sets,” Ember’s father, Josh Honeycutt said. “But finishing No. 2 out of 158 teams from all across the country is a pretty big accomplishment.
The CSVC 15U Black team went 13-1 over the 4-day AAU Nationals tournament in Orlando, Fla. Photo courtesy of Josh Honeycutt
Over the course of the four-day tournament, CSVC 15U Black played 14 matches, losing only the championship game to finish 13-1. In the best two-out-of-three sets format, the CSVC 15U Black team won 11 of the matches in straight sets, often by lopsided scores.
Several of the girls competing on the CSVC 15U Black squad compete for other high schools in the NCHSAA’s Northwestern Conference, including South Caldwell and Alexander Central, as well as schools in other regional schools in different conferences under the NCHSAA realignment that goes into effect for the 2026-26 academic year. Those schools include Patton (Morganton), Ashe County, Maiden and Hickory Christian Academy.
The Midwest Elite 15-1 club is organized by MVP Volleyball (www.mvpvolley.org), based in western Iowa.
The Carolina Select Volleyball Club is based in Hickory, N.C., offering programs for a variety of ages, including boys and girls teams.
Parents Josh and Angela Honeycutt flank their trophy-winning daughter, Ember Honeycutt, after her Carolina Select Volleyball Club 15U Black team finished No. 2 out of 158 teams competing in the AAU Nationals. Photo courtesy of Josh Honeycutt.
By David Rogers. THOMASVILLE, N.C. — Trey Sanders pitched five shutout innings and leadoff batter Tyler Martin displayed both power and speed on June 27, leading the Boone Bigfoots to a 4-2 road win over the High Point-Thomasville HiToms at Finch Field. The victory extended the Bigfoots’ win streak to five games, preserved their Coastal Plains League West Division tie with Martinsville for No. 4 in the standings, and pulled them within just three games of the league-leading Forest City Owls.
Credited as the winning pitcher, Sanders allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out seven HiToms batters in five innings of work on the mound and was efficient in facing just 21 batters. Of his 83 pitches, 48 were strikes. He worked 3-up, 3-down frames in the first and third innings, and worked out of jam in the fifth inning with runners at 2nd and 3rd by striking out the No. 3 hitter in the HPT batting order to quell the threat.
Leadoff hitters are most apt to get on base and led the power hitters in the heart of the batting order drive them home. Martin pooh-poohed that notion by crushing a home run as the first batter in the bottom of the 5th inning — and the first batter faced by HPT’s reliever Kobie Cushing, who ignored the rude greeting and got through the rest of the inning without additional damage.
Martin’s speed on the basepaths was also critical to the Bigfoots’ scoring to open the game. After being issued a walk to leadoff the first inning, Martin stole second to put himself in scoring position, enabling Boone to capitalize when BBF third baseman Payton Basler smacked a double to the fence.
Boone added more single-run frames in the 4th (Brady Sullivan scored on consecutive wild pitches), 5th (Martin HR), and 8th (2-out RBI single by Samuel Weinstein) innings.
By Jacob Plecker. BROOKLYN, N.Y. — App State men’s basketball forward CJ Huntley signed a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns following the conclusion of the 2025 NBA Draft.
Over his five-year career with App State, Huntley was a part of three postseason appearances, which included a berth in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. App State’s 96 wins during Huntley’s career makes him the second-most winningest player in program history, trailing only Donovan Gregory, who tallied 97 wins from 2019-24.
A second-team All-Sun Belt selection in 2024-25, Huntley posted a career year in his fifth season at App State, scoring a career-best 15.7 points-per-game and grabbing a career-best eight rebounds-per-game. Huntley shot 50 percent from the field in his final season and a career-best 36 percent from behind the 3-point line.
CJ Huntley (15) puts down a resounding dunk to beat the buzzer at the Holmes Convocation Center to defeat Southern Miss on Feb. 5, 2025, 60-58. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
The Huntersville, N.C., native also became the 37th member of App State’s 1,000-point club on Dec. 20, 2024, against North Texas. He finished his five-year career with 1,324 points, which is the 22nd-most all-time at App State. Additionally, he played in 153 games in the Black and Gold, tying him with Justin Forrest for the most all-time.
Twice named to the All-Sun Belt Preseason Team, Huntley tallied a team-best 11 double-doubles in 2024-25, making him one of four Sun Belt players with at least 10 double-doubles. He also became the first Mountaineer since Marshall Phillips in 1998 to record a 20-point, 15-rebound game, doing so against Coastal Carolina on Jan. 8. He recorded four games with at least 25 points in his final season and finished seventh in the Sun Belt in scoring and sixth in rebounding.
He averaged 8.7 points and five rebounds-per-game in his Mountaineer tenure, while shooting 49 percent from the floor and 34 percent from three.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Starting off on the right foot — so to speak — the Boone Bigfoots exploded for three runs in the bottom of the first inning against the High Point-Thomasville HiToms, added a couple more runs later and hung on to win, 5-4, on June 26 at Smith Stadium.
One of the hottest-hitting batters in the Coastal Plain League of late, Boone’s Michael Young wasted little time in crushing a towering fly ball over the left-centerfield fence, driving in not only himself but also the leadoff batter, designated hitter Tyler Martin, who walked to open the bottom half of the frame. Young has been shuffled up and down the Bigfoots’ batting order this season but the University of South Alabama’s CPL standout brings his power to wherever he’s inserted.
Ray Euson pitched four strong innings for the Bigfoots to earn the win vs. the HiToms on June 26 at Smith Stadium. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
On the mound, Ray Euson faced 17 batters in four strong innings and was credited with the win as the Boone starting pitcher, allowing just four hits and one run, walking two and striking out a pair of HiToms batters.
The HiToms didn’t go away quietly. In the 7th inning, the visitors managed three runs off of two different Bigfoots pitchers who had “Born to be Wild” in their DNA on this night. Reliever Andrew Hart hit the HiToms’ Landon Peavy to lead off the inning, then walked the visitors’ Tyler Steele.
A Yates Sikes RBI single to score Peavy sent Hart to the showers and brought Landon Watts to the mound with runners on first and second. That proved only temporary, however, as a passed ball and wild pitch advanced the runners and brought Steele home. Then a Blake Gaffney infield single scored Sikes before Watts settled in and secured the final two outs of the inning — but not before the HiToms had knotted the score at 4-4.
Just a bit inside… Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
The Bigfoots responded with back-to-back, 2-out doubles in the bottom of the 7th inning to bring across the winning run. First, Davin Whitaker smashed a double to the centerfield fence, then Tyler Renn ripped a 2-bagger to left, driving in Whitaker.
Defense and pitching were the difference makers for the Bigfoots in the later innings. Watts dug in on the mound in the 8th, striking out the first HiToms batter and getting the second to ground out to second base. A single and a stolen base were all that separated that strong opening with the finishing strikeout to end the scoring threat.
The Sequence
It might look like the Bigfoots Payton Basler will be thrown out by a proverbial mile, but somewhere between the HiToms’ shortstop’s catch and tag, the ball ends up near the infielder’s cheek bone as Basler slides into second base safely on June 26, 2025. Photographic images by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Flame-throwing Bigfoots reliever Jacob Haley was credited with the save, coming on in the 9th inning to face just four batters in retiring the side and securing the home team’s win.
With the win, the Bigfoots improve to 10-10, which puts them in a tie with Martinsville for fourth place in the Coastal Plain League’s West Division.
KEY PERFORMERS
Boone Bigfoots
Ray Ebson (SP): 4 innings pitched, 1 run on 4 hits, walked 2, striking out 2
Michael Young (1B): 1-3, 1 run scored, 2 RBIs, HR
Davin Whitaker (CF): 2-4, 1 run scored, 2B
Tyler Renn (C): 1-3, 1 RBI, 2B
Brady Sullivan (RF): 1-3, 1 run scored, 2 stolen bases
Payton Basler (3B): 0-1, hit by pitch, 2 walks, 2 stolen bases
High Point-Thomasville HiToms
Yates Sikes (CF): 2-3, 1 run scored, 1 RBI
Blake Gaffney (C): 1-2, 1 run scored, 1 RBI
PLAYERS MENTIONED
Ray Euson – Haines City, Fla., Francis Marion University
Michael Young – Montgomery, Ala., University of South Alabama
Davin Whitaker – Mocksville, N.C., East Carolina University
Tyler Renn – Marys Home, Mo., Columbia College
Brady Sullivan – Cypress, Texas, Blinn Community College
Payton Basler – Lansing, Kan., University of Missouri
Jacob Haley – Huntsville, Ala., University of South Alabama
Andrew Hart – Wexford, Pa., Cleveland Community College
Landon Watts – Picayune, Miss., Pearl River Community College
Yates Sikes – High Point, N.C., Western Carolina University
Blake Gaffney – Kannapolis, N.C., Wake Tech Community College
Landon Peavy – Lancaster, S.C., North Greenville University
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C.— A dramatic 7-run explosion in the 7th and 8th innings broke open a 4-4 deadlock and powered the Boone Bigfoots to a convincing, 11-6 win over Coastal Plain League leader, the Forest City Owls on June 24 at Smith Stadium.
After Boone twice loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning but were limited to just a single run as Owls starting pitcher Luke Ferguson was able to wiggle out of the jams — thanks in no small measure to baserunning errors by the Bigfoots — the offensive action carried over into the second inning. The Owls sent John Jones to the mound to start the bottom half of the 2nd. It might have been a different pitcher, but the Bigfoots were still on target, offensively. Rightfielder Brady Sullivan (Cypress, Texas; Blinn Community College) led off with a single to right, then second baseman Blaine Lucas (Tomball, Texas; San Jacinto Community College) raced to first base on a dropped third strike by the Owls catcher.
Michael Young launches a 2-RBI double that hit the left centerfield fence on June 24 vs. the Forest City Owls. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
The Bigfoots’ designated hitter on this night was Michael Young (Montgomery, Ala.; University of South Alabama). As Boone’s hottest batter in recent games, Young didn’t disappoint, smashing a double off the left-centerfield wall and driving in both Sullivan and Lucas.
The Bigfoots would add another run in the 4th inning behind a strong pitching performance by starter Drew Harrison (Madison, Miss.; Pearl River Community College). The lanky righthander gave up three runs on three hits, striking out seven of the 22 batters he faced while walking none. Of Harrison’s 77 pitches thrown, 56 were strikes.
The Boone Bigfoots’ Blaine Lucas slides home against the Forest City Owls on June 24. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Cole McMichael (Louisville, Ky.; Bellarmine University) took the mound in relief of Harrison to start the 7th inning — and immediately gave up a solo home run to Owls left fielder Matthew Lively (Chapin, S.C.; The Citadel). McMichael settled down to allow only one more baserunner, but that left the score knotted at 4-4.
The Bigfoots responded with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the 7th inning. Young led off with a single for his third hit of the ball game. Then Owls reliever Corben Childers had some control problems, walking Charlie Niehaus (West Chester, Ohio; University of Cincinnati) and hitting Payton Basler (Lansing, Kansas; University of Missouri) to load the bases.
Davin Whitaker (39) had a big night for the Boone Bigfoots on June 24 vs. the Forest City Owls. The Mocksville, NC native attending East Carolina went 3-4, with 1 run scored and 6 RBIs on the night. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Davin Whitaker (Mocksville, N.C.; East Carolina) wasted no time, slashing the second pitch to center for a 2-RBI single, scoring Young and Niehaus. Whitaker and Basler would complete the scoring for the inning a couple of batters later on wild pitches.
It was three up and three down in the top of the 8th for the Owls, with Colin Jenkins (Mt. Olive, Miss.; Pearl River Community College) taking the mound for the Bigfoots, in relief. A flyout to left and a couple of groundouts to third base were all the visitors from Forest City could manage in response.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Bigfoots added three more insurance runs off of another new Owls pitcher, Adam Katz. Grant Watkins (Troon, Neb.; Abilene Christian), Niehaus and Basler all singled to again load the bases full of Bigfoots and Whitaker took advantage by driving a double to the fence, scoring all three of the runners ahead of him.
The Owls, still firmly in first place with an 11-5 record after the loss, threatened to even things up in the top of the 9th inning, but could only manage to score two runs, coming up short on the night.
Harrison was credited as the winning pitcher for Boone, Ferguson picked up the loss for the Owls.
Boone is at Martinsville on June 25 then return home on June 26, hosting the High Point-Thomasville HiToms.
KEY PERFORMERS
Bigfoots
Drew Harrison (SP): 6 innings, allowed 3 runs on 3 hits, no walks, 7 strikeouts
Michael Young (DH): 3-4, 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs, 2B
Davin Whitaker (CF): 3-4, 1 run scored, 6 RBIs, 2B
Blaine Lucas (2B): 1-4, 2 runs scored, 2B
Payton Basler (3B): 1-4, 2 runs scored, hit by pitch
Charlie Niehaus (SS): 1-3, 2 runs scored, 2 walks
Forest City
Jaden James (1B): 2-4, 2 runs scored, stolen base
Frank Kelly (2B): 1-4, 1 run scored, 2 RBIs, HR
Matthew Lively (LF): 1-3, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, HR, walk
