LEXINGTON — Jameson Hodges’ perfect night at the plate was not enough for Wilkes County to overcome defensive miscues in a 9-7 loss to Lexington on Monday night at Holt-Moffitt Field.
Hodges, a 2024 Watauga graduate, went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and added a pair of walks to reach base in all five plate appearances.
Despite Hodges’ big night at the plate, the Moonshiners could not overcome nine errors, and the Flying Pigs capitalized on them, which included a five-run third inning.
Before that, Hodges tied the game at two with an RBI single; Ashe County’s Drew Cheek gave the visitors a one-run lead when he scored on a wild pitch before Hodges scored on Will Pardue’s RBI single.
Jake Blanton, who started in left field for the Moonshiners on Saturday, makes contact with a pitch in the fourth inning.
Photo by Zach Colburn
Hodges added another RBI single in the sixth, cutting the Flying Pigs’ lead to 8-6.
After Lexington’s Mac Larkin led off the seventh with a home run, Wilkes County (13-22) loaded the bases in the top of the eighth behind walks from Chase Smith, Eli Johnson and Brady Rascoll.
Hodges, who was the lone Moonshiner with multiple hits, drew a walk to cut the deficit to two, but Wilkes could not get any closer.
Cheek scored twice, thanks to drawing a trio of walks. Drew Grimm also homered for the Moonshiners.
Moonshiners fend off home run surge from Honeycrisps
Wilkes County snatched the lead late from Hendersonville in an 8-7 win on Saturday night at The Creek.
The Moonshiners bested the Honeycrisps in their penultimate home finale despite being outhit by three.
That included a quartet of home runs, but it was a two-run single in the top of the eighth from Ayden Hines that put the visitors up 7-5.
The Moonshiners responded with a trio of walks to load the bases, and Brayden Hilaski drove in a pair of runs with a single.
Cooper Critcher, seen here with Caldwell Community College this past spring, has helped the Statesville Owls garner the top seed for the SCBL playoffs.
Photo courtesy of CCCTI
Brooks Scheck, who was one of four Moonshiners (Hilaski, Nick Weisner, and Ty Edds the others) to finish with two hits, then tagged up on an Edds sacrifice fly to give Wilkes County its first lead since the bottom of the first.
Closer Bryant Rascoll worked around a pair of baserunners to pick up the save.
Ashe County’s Gavin Eller picked up the win as he scattered a trio of runs on five hits and struck out a pair in 4 1/3 innings of work.
Jameson Hodges got the start at second base on Saturday and finished 1-for-4 at the plate. The Watauga graduate also drove in the Moonshiners’ first run in the bottom of the first with an RBI single.
Former Pioneer Jake Blanton also got the start in left field.
Evan Johnson and Spencer Dalley had Wilkes County’s other hits.
HarborHippos down Moonshiners
One big inning proved to be the difference for the Lake Norman HarborHippos in a 6-1 win against Wilkes County on July 15.
The loss spoiled a solid night from Zion Hankins, who homered in the fourth inning for the Moonshiners’ lone run of the contest. Hankins finished 2-for-3 to headline one of three Moonshiners who finished with two hits.
After making a nice play, Wilkes County’s Jameson Hodges throws from the outfield to retire Hendersonville’s Cutter Womack at first base in the second inning.
Photo by Zach Colburn
Watauga’s Jameson Hodges got the start at shortstop and finished 1-for-4 at the plate while hitting out of the leadoff spot. Fellow Pioneer Jake Blanton came on as a reserve in right field and grounded out in his lone at-bat.
Ashe County’s Kye Pennington took the loss on the mound despite only two of the six runs allowed being earned in six innings of work.
Wilkes County splits twin bill with Flying Pigs
Making up a contest from the week before, the Moonshiners earned a split with Lexington on July 14.
Wilkes County dropped the opening contest, 13-4, but salvaged a split with a 4-1 victory in the nightcap.
The Moonshiners broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fifth with three runs, and punctuated the scoring after Jameson Hodges drew a bases-loaded walk. The shortstop finished 1-for-2 at the plate to go along with the free pass.
Jake Blanton, of Watauga, got the start in left field in the game that was shortened to seven innings.
The duo of Spencer Dalley and Connor Brown combined to strike out 11 Flying Pigs.
In the opener, Wilkes County stayed close but two runs in the sixth inning and a six-spot in the seventh allowed the Flying Pigs to pull away.
Gavin Eller delivers a pitch in the fifth inning. The recent Ashe County graduate pitched 4 1/3 innings of relief in the Moonshiners win against Hendersonville.
Photo by Zach Colburn
Brooks Scheck paced the Moonshiners at the plate with two hits while Hodges (two walks) and Ashe County’s Sam Tibbs had one hit apiece.
Fellow Husky Jordan Tibbs scored once while going 0-for-3 at the plate.
Sam Tibbs was also one of five Moonshiners to pitch in the contest as he allowed just one hit and no runs in 2/3 of the innings of work.
Critcher helps Owls secure SCBL’s top seed
Cooper Critcher, a 2024 Watauga graduate who played for the Moonshiners last summer, helped the Statesville Owls college wooden bat team take first place in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League.
Statesville (15-9) garnered the top seed for the SCBL playoffs, which began on Monday night. The postseason began for the Owls on Tuesday night, thanks to a first-round bye.
Critcher, a catcher who spent the past two years at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, has seen action in nine games throughout the summer. But he saved his best for last this past Saturday night in the Owls’ 10-7 win against the Concord Athletics.
Critcher homered for the first time this summer while going 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of runs batted in.
The two base hits are a third of the six that he’s had this summer, as Critcher’s batted .250 with a quartet of runs batted in.
Old North State League-Mountain standings (as of July 20)
Lexington Flying Pigs 26-12/19-11
Hendersonville Honeycrisps 22-16/16-14
Pineville Porcupines 19-15/16-14
Waynesville Hollers 16-17/14-16
Lake Norman HarborHippos 17-21/12-17
Wilkes County Moonshiners 13-22/12-17
Upcoming Weekly Schedule (all home games will be played at West Wilkes High School)
July 24: ONSL playoffs, 1st round (opponent and site TBD)
Wilkes County’s Jake Blanton makes a catch near the warning track in left field in the fifth inning.
Photo by Zach Colburn
Moonshiners designated hitter Brooks Scheck went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs batted in during Saturday’s come-from-behind win.
Photo by Zach Colburn