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Day 1 at Ashley Spring Break Tourney: Walston is Dominant

April 16, 2019
Tim Hower
PBR Guest Correspondent

PBR was on the road on Monday for the first spring break action of 2019.  Tim Hower of Coastal Preps is on and reporting on the action throughout the week.  On Day 1, PBR Scouting Director Brandon Hall was on hand as well.  Below, Tim recaps each of the 4 games from Monday.  Brandon will update the scout blog in the coming days with in-depth player reports from each game.

 

Day 1: Ashley Spring Break Tournament


ASHLEY 10, ANNANDALE, VA. 0 (5 INNINGS)

Brunswick CC commit Ashton Evans and Drew Tyndall combined to throw the first perfect game in school history and the Screaming Eagles had six extra base hits in the lopsided victory.

Evans pitched the first four innings, striking out five without a walk on 45 pitches. Tyndall finished the game off with a fly out and back-to-back strikeouts.

“It was in the back of my mind, but I was trying not to think about it too much,” Evans said.
Ashley (11-5) will take on New Hanover in the semifinals Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Screaming Eagles got two-run, two-out singles from Michael Brannin and Branton Jernigan in the bottom of the second inning. Jernigan also came around to score on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 5-0.

Another five-run frame in the bottom of the fourth enacted the mercy rule. Brunswick CC commit Rocco Farmintino had an RBI triple and Barrett Swails drove him in with a single. RJ Hunt finished the scoring with a two-run double.

Swails and Brannin each had two hits.

“Our energy in the dugout was the main thing that was different from the last few games,” Swails said. “We were all cheering each other on and the atmosphere was great.”

Annandale fell to 3-9 with the loss.

 

NEW HANOVER 7, GARNER 0

The defending tournament champions got a dominant start from senior southpaw Blake Walston, who scattered two hits and struck out 13 in six innings.

Walston, an N.C. State commit, finished with 71 pitches (52 for strikes). He whiffed the first five batters he faced and had at least two in each of the first five innings.

“During the bullpens, it’s not always about trying to pump it as hard as you can, it’s all about command,” Walston said. “If you have good command, you will get more hitters out and keep your pitch count down.”

New Hanover (14-0) provided him with more than enough offense. UNCW commit Jac Croom led off the bottom of the first inning with a single up the middle and scored what turned out to be the winning run on a wild pitch.

A four-run third inning put the Wildcats on top 6-0 and they added a final run on a wild pitch that plated UNC commit Kyle Smith.

The top four hitters in the New Hanover lineup – Croom, Walston, Smith and N.C. Central commit Alex Sniffen – went a combined 8-for-15 with four runs.

“We knew Garner was a good team, so we had to make them pay when we could,” Sniffen said. “On the way here, coach Foy was preaching if we got a fastball not to miss it.”

Garner (10-7) didn’t have a hit through five innings, but finished with one a piece from Kaden Brown and Michael Hamling.

 

HERITAGE 3, LANEY 2

Charlotte commit Vito Patierno tied the game up with a two-out, two run double in the top of the seventh inning and came around to scoring the winning run on a single up the middle from Wake Tech commit Cole Cunningham to send the Huskies into the semifinals.

“I struggled in my first two at-bats, so I was just looking for a pitch to drive,” Patierno said. “I got one and was able to take it back side.”

Heritage (13-3) nine-hole hitter Whit Kane led off the inning with an infield single and stole second and third bases. With two outs, Campbell commit Cameron O’Brien worked a walk. Facing an 0-1 count, Patierno found the gap in right-center field to even the score.

“This is Heritage baseball. We seem to always wait until the last couple innings to get going,” Huskies coach Thomas Ferrara said. “We’re trying to stop that and I’m preaching to the guys to punch first.”

The Huskies will take on East Forsyth in the first semifinal Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

O’Brien got the start and allowed two unearned runs on one hit over five innings. He struck out seven, but also walked seven. Blake Hanly got the victory by tossing a scoreless sixth inning and Chris Katz picked up the save by getting the final three outs.

 

Laney (10-6) scored both runs in the fifth inning. Brooks Byers reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a single from freshman Connor Kane. Griffin Sandstrum walked and scored on an error.

Senior righty Chase Hall didn’t factor into the decision despite pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

 

EAST FORSYTH 3, HOGGARD 0

Senior right-handed pitcher Kameron Evans scattered four hits and struck out 10 in a dominant complete-game effort to send the Eagles into the semifinals.

 

Evans, who was committed to Winston-Salem St. before they decided to drop their program, struck out the first five batters he faced. He finished with 94 pitches, including 63 for strikes.

“I usually know before a game if I’m on and today I felt amazing,” Evans said. “It was one of my best games location wise.”

East Forsyth (7-11) got on the board first in the second inning. Winthrop commit Jackson May led off with a single and scored from first on a pair of throwing errors. They added two insurance runs in the sixth. Gardner-Webb commit Danny Fish walked and scored on an error and ECU commit Xavier Isaac walked and scored on a single from Matt Rivers (Gardner-Webb commit).

“We’ve done four years of spring break tournaments and we’ve played the very first game every year, which is what I like,” East Forsyth coach Drew Dull said. “My guys know that if they win Game 1 they get to sleep in the rest of spring break and that’s always my pitch to them.”

Hoggard (3-12) starter Ben Whitehurst took the loss despite not allowing an earned run in six innings. The freshman southpaw allowed only two hits and struck out five.

 

TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE

All games at Ashley High School
10:30 a.m. – Laney vs. Garner
1:30 p.m. – Hoggard vs. Annandale, Va.
4:30 p.m. – East Forsyth vs. Heritage
7:30 p.m. – New Hanover vs. Ashley

Tim Hower publishes Coastal Preps, a website dedicated to high school sports in the Wilmington and Brunswick County area.  You can see more of his coverage at www.coastalpreps.com.