By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
ALEXANDER CENTRAL 10
NEWTON – The things that have put a 15 on the right-hand side of Newton-Conover High’s record in baseball this season reared their ugly heads again on Wednesday.
The eighth-seeded Red Devils — who surprised top-seeded Fred T. Foard by winning 5-4 and fell 4-2 to Hickory in a semifinal in the Catawba Valley Easter Baseball Classic — got blown out in the third-place game.
Third-seeded Alexander Central (14-8) got 15 hits in a 10-0, five-inning victory for the school’s 13th top three finish in the Classic but its first third place.
Alexander Central’s Rhyne Johnson had four hits, tying the tournament record for single-game hits, and right-handers Zach Brzycky and Justin Cook combined to check the Red Devils (4-15) on two hits.
NEWTON-CONOVER 0
“Their pitching was really good and we shot ourselves in the foot – not a good combination,” said Newton-Conover head coach Corey Nunley after this team’s day also included three errors.
Johnson, who had seven tournament hits (the record is eight) came to the plate in the sixth inning with the bases loaded. He’d previously delivered three singles and a double but the ball that came off his bat this time scored a run and kicked the 10-run rule in.
It scored Tyler Campbell from third when Campbell slid in – and was safe — as the throw came to home. The official scoring was a fielder’s choice and RBI for Johnson, leaving him officially 4-for-5.
Alexander Central scored two runs off Red Devils starter Jake Hayman in the second inning on a pop up to left by Trae Starnes (3-for-4).
The Cougars batted around in the third inning with Grayson Chapman (single), Brzycky (single) collecting RBIs and the fifth run scoring with the bases loaded when Hayman hit Matt Fedota with a pitch. All the scoring in the inning came with two outs.
In the fourth inning, Cook doubled in a run and Dyson singled in another, making it 7-0.
A one-out triple in the fifth inning and Johnson’s single to left scored runs for the Cougars for a 9-0 lead.
With Daniel Kahill pitching in relief in the sixth for the Red Devils, Josh Jacobs, Campbell and Donavan Smith – all as pinch-hitters – had singles. Kahill then got a groundball out with a runner thrown out at the plate and a pop-up to face Johnson.
When a run scored, the Cougars had reached 10 or more for the seventh time this season and won 10-0 for the fourth time.
“I feel like we’re starting to play well,” said Alexander Central head coach Pete Hardee. “We’re swinging the bat (well) with runners in scoring position.”
Alexander Central now heads back to the North Piedmont 3A-4A race, where it is 9-3 and a game back of league-leading Lake Norman. The Cougars are at home Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Statesville.
Newton-Conover has a three-game week, starting with a home Southern District 7 Athletic 2A game on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Bunker Hill.
After playing at Fred T. Foard in a non-league game on Wednesday at 7 p.m., the Red Devils — 2-10 and in last place in the SD-7 2A — close the regular season at Bandys on Friday at 7 p.m.