Varsity Baseball

Black Knights Win 8-4 Over Mt. Tabor in First Round of CPC Tourney
5/1/2012

The Black Knights opened the CPC Tourney Tuesday evening against Mt. Tabor and it looked like the game would not be played ...but after a 2 hour and 20 minute delay...a "Lassiter" evening ensued! Lassiter, as in Landon, as he was in the "zone"...going 3/3 with 2 towering homeruns and 6 ..yes..6 RBI's in route to the 8-4 victory for the Knights! Andrew Mayton started on the mound and pitched 5 solid innings...only giving up 4 hits and 4 runs with 6 strikeouts! Jack O'Neal came on in relief and pitched 2 scoreless innings. Chase Mitchell also had a great night..going 2/5 with an RBI and Drew Beaver also was 1/4 with an RBI.
The win sets up a BIG game Thursday at 5pm against Davie County....Clyde Tate will be on the hill to take the Knights to the championship game as the momentum is definitely in the Knights favor after Tate's strong showing against West Forsyth last Friday....Come out to Reagan in Pfafftown on Thursday at 5pm and let's support the Black Knights as they continue the quest for the title!!!
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Senior Baseball Night vs. West Forsyth 4/27/2012

Click on the pictures for full photos

Knights vs. Reagan 4/13/2012

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Knights Come Up Short In A Thriller !
4/10/2012

The Black Knights travelled to Clemmons on Tuesday evening to take on the West Forsyth Titans in a huge CPC matchup. The game lived up to expectations and came down to the final pitch in the bottom of the 7th that wound up giving the Titans an 8-7 win.
 West Forsyth jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after 2 innings. Then, Chase Mitchell ties the game up in the top of the 3rd with a HUGE homerun to right center to get the Knights momentum back.In the bottom of the 3rd, West gets 2 runs back after a couple of hits and a wild play on a pickoff play of the runner at 3rd and a rundown that goes the Titan's way allowing them to take a 5-3 lead heading into the 4th.
 Clyde Tate pitched out of a 1 out jame with a runner on 3rd to keep the score at 5-3. Leading off the top of the 5th, Landon Lassiter hits a bomb deep over the left field fence to get the Knights within 1 at 5-4. The Knights get out of another jam in the bottom of the 5th with runners on 1st and 3rd with 1 out as Tate forces a popup to Lassiter who throws to Mitchell at first to double up the runner going back and end the inning.
West gets 2 more runs in the bottom of the 6th and Drew Beaver comes on in relief and gets the Knights out of the inning.
Top of the 7th, Taylor Idol walks, and then ...Lassiter hits ANOTHER homerun over the centerfield fence to draw within 1 run at 7-6 . The Knights Chase Mitchell draws a walk and moves to 2nd on a wild pitch.the next batter gets to 1st to make it runners in 1st and 2nd with 1 out for the Knights. Mitchell advances to 3rd on a grounder to ss and Goss comes to the plate..Goss swings at the 3rd strike and the catcher misses the ball so Goss takes off for 1st base and the 1st baseman drops the ball after colliding with a hard charging Goss! Mitchell comes in to score the tying run!
In the bottom of the 7th, the Titans geta a couple of runners via walks and a grounder hit to Lassiter at short takes a wierd/bad hop to get thru allowing the Titans to load the bases.Another infield grounder sets up 2 outs and the winning run on 3rd. Beaver pitched well and the count went to 3-2 , 2 outs , bottom of the 7th....the next pitch was called ball 4 and the winning run advanced across the plate...final score..West Forsyth 8..North Davidson 7.
 This was an exciting game to watch and the Black Knights played from behind the entire game, but, they dug deep and kept hustling to make it a thrilling contest. Come out to see the guys as they play again on Friday night at home!

Photos from this game are below.

North Davidson vs. West Forsyth 4/10/2012
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Knights Run Rule Vikings in BB&T

For the 2^nd consecutive season, the Knights were invited to play a game at BB&T Ballpark in Winston Salem. It is home to the Winston Salem Dash and has been proclaimed as “far and away the best Minor League Park in the country” by several publications across the country. The ballpark is also the site of the 2012 Minor League All Star game, which it will host in mid-June of this year. It was a privilege and an honor for the Knights to get to play there.

Last year was a heartbreaking loss for the Knight’s when they took on Forsyth Country Day in BB&T after battling hard with a team that had 6+ Division 1 players in its starting lineup. The Knights looked to continue on their hot streak of 3 wins in a row as they sent Clyde Tate to the mound in the top of the 1^st. Tate got 2 strikeouts and a ground ball for a quick inning. This game would prove to be an erratic game as far as NW Guilford pitchers finding the strike zone. After issuing 3 walks in the first inning, Andrew Mayton drove in the Knight’s first run with a fielder’s choice to the right side of the infield. The Knight’s scoring would pause only momentarily. First up for the Vikings in the top half of the 2^nd was starting pitcher Jackson Bellenkes. While Bellenkes had a rough outing as the NW Guilford starting pitcher, he had a very good night at the plate, with the 1^st of his 2 doubles coming in the 2^nd inning with a well hit ball to left center. Bellenkes was driven in by another double to tie the game at 1 before the end of the 2^nd.

The game remained uneventful until the home half of the 3^rd with the Knights at the plate. NW Guilford issued walk after walk after walk…..after walk. Knights 3^rd Baseman Drew Beaver had a single and a double in the inning with 3 RBI in the 3^rd alone. In an inning that lasted roughly 35 minutes, North put 10 runs on the board to go up 11-1. After bringing in Andrew Mayton from the bullpen, the Vikings narrowly avoided being run ruled in the 5^th by squeaking in a run in the top of the 5^th. The Knights promptly ended any hope NW Guilford had as Kevin Goss scored on a past ball in the 6^th inning to end the game at 12-2 in favor of the Knights.

The Knights have now won 4 in a row and are coming together well as a team, playing good defense and smart overall baseball. North will host Reagan High School at home Tuesday, March 20^th to open up conference play. Come out and show your support for Black Knight Baseball!

                           1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
NW Guilford 0 1 0 0 1 0 X 2 8 3
North Davidson 1 0 10 0 0 1 X 12 4 0

Pitchers:
NW Guilford-
Jackson Bellenkes starting pitcher and losing pitcher pitched 2 complete innings, left the game during the bottom of the third inning.
Greyson Evans came in for Bellenkes in the 3rd inning, pitched two thirds of an inning.
Keifer Teague came in Evans in the 3rd inning, pitched two thirds of an inning. Left during the 4th inning.
Matt Bond came in for Teague in the 4th inning, pitched two thirds of an inning.
Jesse Juday came in for Bond in the bottom of the 5th inning, pitched 1 and two thirds innings.
Stephen Hamrich came in for Juday finished the game
North Davidson-
Clyde Tate starting pitcher and winning pitcher (2-2). Pitched 4 complete innings
Andrew Mayton came in for Tate in the top of the 5th inning, pitched a third of an inning.
Drew Beaver came in for Mayton, pitched 1 and two thirds innings.

Catchers:
NW Guilford-
Adam Swim
Max Donnelly came in for Swim in the 5th inning.
North Davidson-
CJ Rice

Leading Hitters:
NW Guilford-
Jackson Bellenkes (2-2) 2 doubles, 1 run
Marcus Shoemaker (2-2) single, double, RBI
Colson Everett (1-1) single
Chase Corrington (1-1) double, RBI
North Davidson-
Drew Beaver (2-3) single, double, run, 3 RBI
Kevin Goss (1-2) single, 3 runs, RBI
Jake Roberson (1-4) single, run, RBI

Doubles:
NW Guilford-
Jackson Bellenkes (2)
Chase Corrington
Marcus Shoemake

“Win as a Team”

Watauga High School baseball came into Welcome tonight with a #3 ranking in the state of North Carolina. Needless to say they would not leave in the same fashion as the Knights handed them a 8-6 loss behind strong offensive performances from Andrew Mayton and Jake Roberson. Mayton, along with picking up the win on the mound, provided 5 RBI, 2 of which came on a long home run in the 3^rd. Roberson went 2-4 with 2 singles and 2 runs scored.

After a difficult first inning for Mayton, the Knight’s offense responded to the call and turned a 3 run deficit into a 2 run lead behind Roberson’s first single, a couple walks and a past ball. Mayton settled going into the 2^nd  and had a very good inning, getting a strikeout and 2 ground balls for a quick 1-2-3 inning. North’s 2^nd inning was one that was helped by Watauga’s fielding woes. Good things happen when you hit the ball hard and consistently, and this was certainly the case tonight as the Pioneers struggled at times to handle well-hit balls by the Knights.  The Knights, on the other hand, had a very solid defensive performance tonight, a good sign for a young team. After Mayton’s blast in the 3^rd took the lead to 4, the game was relatively tame. Jack O’Neal came on in relief for Mayton in the 5^th for the Knights and put together several solid innings, holding the Pioneers to 2 runs over nearly 3 innings. The game took an exciting turn during the Pioneer’s last chance in the 7^th. After 2 straight singles and 1 out, Head Coach Mike Meadows decided to go to the bullpen, errr…actually to 3^rd base and bring in Drew Beaver to close out the game. Beaver wasted no time getting a ground ball on his first pitch. The grounder was scooped up by 2^nd baseman Taylor Idol, going to his right, then throwing a strike to Landon Lassiter who then sealed the deal with a good strong throw to Chase Mitchell for the final out of the game on a 4-6-3 double play.

The Knight’s got a well deserved confidence booster from tonight’s win against a quality baseball team. A solid, whole team effort led the Knight’s to the win tonight and as Knight’s fans, we hope this will continue on into next week when the Knights take on Northwest Guilford at BB&T Stadium in Winston-Salem on Wednesday. With the win tonight, North’s record improves to 3-3 on the year, with them winning 3 straight.

North Davidson won the game 8 to 6. North Davidson’s record is now (3-3). Watauga is now (3-1).
1       2       3       4       5       6       7       R       H       E
Watauga                 3       0       1       0       0       2       0       6       10      5
North Davidson          5       1       2       0       0       0       X       8       6       1

Pitchers:
Watauga-
Ryan Turner starting and losing pitcher. Left the game in the 1st inning, pitched a third of an inning
Tripp Taylor came in for Turner in the 1st. Pitched 3 and a third innings.
Taylor Shuford came in for Taylor in the 4th inning. Finished the game.
North Davidson-
Andrew Mayton starting and winning pitcher (1-1). Left the game in the 4th inning. Pitched 3 complete innings.
Jack O’Neal came in for Mayton in the 4th inning. Pitched 3 and a third innings.
Drew Beaver came in for O’Neal in the 7th inning. Finished the game.

Catchers:
Watauga-
David Martin
North Davidson-
CJ Rice

Leading Hitters:
Watauga-
Max Linnville (2-5) single, double, 1 run
Ryan Turner (1-3) single, 1 run
David Martin (1-3) single, 2 runs
Tyler Jones (1-3) single, 1 run, 1 RBI
North Davidson-
Jake Roberson (2-4) 2 singles, 2 runs
Andrew Mayton (1-2) Homerun (scored 1 run from Homerun) 5 RBIs
Clyde Tate (1-3) single, 1 run, 1 RBI
Drew Beaver (1-3) single, 1 run

Doubles:
Watauga-
Max Linnville
North Davidson-
None

Triples:
None

Homeruns:
Watauga-
None
North Davidson-
Andrew Mayton

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“Go Where You Go, Do What You Do”

After a difficult weekend in Myrtle Beach, Black Knights baseball rebounded in impressive fashion as Clyde Tate tossed a very solid 5 hit game, only giving up one run in a complete game effort against High Point Wesleyan. Not only providing a stout pitching performance, Tate went above and beyond and provided all the run support he needed for the win.

After Wesleyan starting pitcher Zach Michalski walked Goss, Roberson and Lassiter, the sacks were packed for Tate. The senior delivered with a hard hit single, plating Goss and Roberson. Later in the inning, CJ Rice delivered a solid 2 out hit to score Landon Lassiter to make the score 3-0 in favor of the Knights in the bottom of the first.

After giving up 2 seeing-eye singles in the first inning, Tate settled into a groove, getting ahead in the count, locating the fastball and keeping it low in the strike zone. After an explosive 1^st inning on offense for the Knights, one might think they would settle down, but this was not the case. With 2 outs in the inning, Landon Lassiter blasted a 2-0 pitch over the left centerfield fence. Junior 1^st baseman Chase Mitchell tagged a fastball from Michalski, sending it sailing into the soccer field behind the right field fence. After securing a 5-0 lead, North focused on the defense, holding Wesleyan to only 2 hits after the 2^nd inning. Wesleyan picked up a run after a Nick Blackwood single brought a run home in the 6^th. Wesleyan threatened in the 7^th, loading the bases but North gets out of the jam to pick up the win.

After losing some tough games over the weekend in Myrtle Beach because of fundamental baseball mistakes, this team has shown what it was capable of after taking down a very talented HP Wesleyan team. Young players are going to be depended on to do their respective jobs to contribute to winning ballgames. 1^st year starter CJ Rice is a great example of this. After working hard in the offseason, Rice has earned the starting job behind the plate, done a solid job defensively and provided 2 hits tonight including a missile to center field for a leadoff double. With young players making the right mental decision, playing low to no mistake baseball, they will succeed as a team.

With the win, North moves to 2-3 on the season. The record reflects a young team working out the early season kinks and learning to play together and gel. The Knights next game will be Thursday, March 8^th as both JV and Varsity will host the Watuaga Pioneers. Some of the Knight players see this game as a chance at revenge after the Pioneers handed North a 10 run loss in their home opener last season. JV game starts at 4:30 and Varsity will follow shortly after.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Wesleyan 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 5 0
North Davidson 3 2 0 0 0 0 X 5 6 1

Pitchers:
Wesleyan-
Zach Michalski- starting pitcher, losing pitcher, pitched 2 complete innings.
Johnny Rollins- came in for Michalski in the bottom of the 3rd inning, left in the bottom of the 6th inning
Nick Blackwood- came in for Rollins in the bottom of the 6th inning.
North Davidson-
Clyde Tate- pitched the entire game, winning pitcher (1-1).

Catchers:
Wesleyan-
Jake Moebius
North Davidson-
CJ Rice

Leading Hitters:
Wesleyan-
Brandon Goodson (2-4) 2 singles
Hayden Manuel (1-2) single
Nick Blackwood (1-3) single, RBI
Jon Olczak (1-3) single
North Davidson-
CJ Rice (2-2) single, double, RBI
Chase Mitchell (2-3) single, homerun, 1 run, RBI
Clyde Tate (1-2) single, 2 RBI
Landon Lassiter (1-3) homerun, 2 runs, RBI

Doubles:
Wesleyan-
None
North Davidson-
CJ Rice

Triples:
None

Homeruns:
Wesleyan-
None
North Davidson-
Landon Lassiter
Chase Mitchell