By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — One a slugfest, the other more of a pitcher’s duel.
In the winner’s bracket of the Tar Heel League District 2 15U tournament at Watauga High School on July 7, the Yancey County edged Mitchell County, 3-1, while the loser’s bracket saw Wilkes County thump Watauga, 14-7.
Game 1
Wilkes County batters jumped on Watauga’s pitchers right from the get-go, scoring four runs in the first inning and four more in the second. Wilkes’ Casey Adams, batting third in the order, hit a double in each of the first three innings to help power his team, going 3-for-5 on the day and scoring two runs. Leadoff batter Matthew Broda was 3-4, with a walk, three singles, two stolen bases and three runs scored.
Watauga waited until the third inning to get anything going, offensively. They drew three walks in the first two innings but were unable to capitalize with any hitting behind them. The big hit in the third inning was a triple off the bat of Jonathan Boubolis, after walks to Thomas Dieters and Jack Bridgeman and a single by Eli Lee to open the frame. Altogether, Watauga batters walked nine times through the seven innings of play.
Down 11-5 at the end of five innings, Watauga tried to rally with two runs scored in the sixth, but Wilkes put an end to it and added three more in the bottom of the sixth to account for the final score, 14-7.
Game 2
Arguably the featured game of the night was between the previous day’s winning teams, Yancey County and Mitchell County.
Mitchell’s Maddox Burleson used a walk, a stolen base, a passed ball and an error by the Yancey catcher to score a run in the second inning, which was the only offensive output of note by either team until the seventh inning, when the Cougars of Yancey County tallied three runs in the top half of the frame. After centerfielder Carter Bennett walked and second baseman Forrest Tyner got hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second, Malachi Haskins and Aayden Honeycutt each followed up with RBI doubles.
In the bottom half of the seventh, Mitchell got singles from Jacoby Dale and Jaxon Rohr, but left the two runners stranded, unable to mount a comeback.
10U Games on July 7
Three games were played on July 7, with these final scores:
- Yancey 1 def. Hickory, 28-0
- Wilkes County def. Yancey 2, 13-8
- Yancey 2 def. Hickory, 18-6 (Hickory eliminated)
On July 8, the winner’s bracket will pit Yancey County 1 vs. Wilkes County, while the loser’s bracket will have an elimination game between Watauga and Yancey County 2. In the double elimination format, both of the latter two teams have one loss each, so the loser will face elimination.
The championship game(s) will be played on July 9.
The 10-and-under tournament is being played in Burnsville.
