Game Recap from Kingsmen Baseball
By Jerob Moon- Sports Information
CORNELIUS, NC- The Piedmont Pride (11-4) and the Lake Norman Copperheads (6-7) wrapped up a four game series with a doubleheader at Hough High School on Saturday. The Pride won Game 1, 6-1 behind a fantastic pitching performance from Cory Conway. The Pride won Game 2, 6-2 and won the weekend series three games to one.
Cory Conway pitched one of the most dominant games this season going 5 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, and 11 strikeouts on only 69 pitches. Conway was locked in from the start striking out seven of the first nine batters he faced. He gave up his first hit in the bottom of the fourth, a solo homerun by Brett Schapcott, which was the Copperheads only run of the game.
Conway got the run support he needed, the big contributors were Jake Wright and Roury Glanton. Wright hit a solo homerun in the second, and Glanton hit a two-run bomb in the fourth, his league leading sixth homerun of the season. The Pride would score one run in the final three innings, and Zach Shank closed the game out for his first save of the season.
“Cory pitched really well, he had great command of his changeup, that’s a pitch he’s been working on. I think he’s got a chance to be very good for us,” Coach Hudak said after the game.
Steven Estep was the starter in Game 2, and he gave up two runs in the first but regrouped well and didn’t give up a run the rest of his outing. Twice he had a runner on third with two outs and both times he was able to get out of the inning unscathed.
The Pride batters were tough outs in the second game, multiple batters were able to get on base even though they were down two strikes. They were also aggressive on the base paths, the team stole six bases in the bottom of the second, leading to three runs that helped them get back in the game. Connor Wilson provided two runs with a double that scored two in the sixth, pushing the Pride’s lead to 6-2.
Alex Nodarse, Tristan Helms, and Jake Hammon were once again strong out of the bullpen. In Game 2 they shut down the Copperheads’ batters in the final three innings, striking out four batters combined.
The Pride will be back in action on Monday with a doubleheader against the Carolina Vipers at Charlotte Latin High School. The second game will make up the opening day game that was rained out on May 31st. First pitch is set for 5 pm.
