Pioneers trip West, fall to S.C.

Spartans roll past

Watauga in 11-1 route
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

When Watauga knocked off South Caldwell in March, the Pioneers scored one run on four hits. In the rematch, Watauga again scored one run on four hits.

This time, it would not be nearly enough.

South Caldwell pounded out 14 hits, including three home runs by Brad Chavis, and rolled past Watauga 11-1 in a Northwestern 4-A Conference game stopped after five innings because of the mercy rule. The Spartans scored six runs in the top of the fifth inning to ice the game.

It was a sharp contrast to the last time the teams played. Watauga went to South Caldwell and grabbed a 1-0 victory, thanks largely to a one-hit pitching performance by starter Tyler Moore.

On Tuesday night, No. 1-ranked South Caldwell (14-1, 6-1 NWC) doubled that production by its second batter.

The Spartans took a 3-0 lead by the end of the first, thanks to an RBI single by Lucas Jackson, who scored one batter later on a two-run home run by Chavis.

“He’s a great hitter,” Pioneers coach Pete Hardee said. “Our ballpark doesn’t hold hitters like that too well. He had a good night, no question about it.”

Chavis hit one home run off three different Watauga pitchers. He sent another shot, a solo shot in the fourth inning off Jon Sharpe, and a two-run blast off Ethan Moyer in the fifth. The Pioneers (9-6, 3-4) used four pitchers against South Caldwell.

Yet Chavis was not the Spartan who got on base the most. Instead, Cody Prestwood and Cody Penny each reached base four times. Prestwood doubled, singled, was hit by a pitch and reached on an error, while Penny doubled two times, singled and walked.

However, Penny did not score a run as the Watauga pitching staff handled the bottom of the South Caldwell order until the sixth inning, when the last three batters in the order reached base. Two of them, Zach Greer and Spencer Smith, were pinch-hitters.

Moore, who kept South Caldwell off-balance the entire game the last time the teams played, allowed the first five Spartans to reach base in the first inning Tuesday. However, he settled down and struck out the next four batters he faced and didn’t give up another run until the third inning when Penny doubled in a run.

“They swung the bat well tonight,” Hardee said. “In a game like this, our kids gave an effort tonight. They worked hard and it just didn't work out. It was not like we were not hustling or playing hard or trying hard. It was just one of those games that didn’t go our way and they played outstanding.”

The other was South Caldwell pitcher Jimmy Messer, who scattered four hits and struck out nine Pioneers.

Watauga’s lone run was a solo home run by Trey Dunnigan in the fourth inning. It was the first home run Messer has given up all season.

Baine Martin had an infield hit in the first, Jack Wallace had an infield single in the second and Trey Lowder singled to left field in the fourth inning, but was thrown out trying to steal second base on the same pitch Wallace struck out on, giving the Spartans a double play.

Messer had a scary moment in the fifth inning when he was hit in the throat squaring around to bunt. He took his base, yielded to a pinch runner, and then returned to the mound to finish the fifth inning.

“When something like that happens, you want to give him the ball just to make sure he’s OK,” South Caldwell coach Jeff Parham said. “I thought he showed a lot of guts him wanting to go and get those three outs. That’s the character of Jimmy Messer. He’s a fighter, a competitor and that’s just the way he is.”

Watauga, which has lost four straight NWC games after winning its first three, plays at West Wilkes on Wednesday in a non-conference tilt. The Pioneers play at NWC rival Freedom on Friday, weather permitting.

South Caldwell 11, Watauga 1
South Caldwell 301 16 — 11 14 0
Watauga 000 10 — 1 4 1
Messer and Chavis. Moore, Sharp (3), Moyer (5), Story (5), and Wallace. W—Messer (5-1), L—Moore (2-3). LOB—South Caldwell 8, Watauga 4. 2B—South Caldwell, DiBernardi 2, Jackson, Prestwood, Penny. HR—South Caldwell, Chavis 3; Watauga, Dunnigan. SB—South Caldwell, Dibernardi 2, Dillard. CS—Watauga, Lowder. HBP—South Caldwell, Prestwood, Messer.