Game Recap from Kingsmen Baseball
By Jerob Moon- Sports Information
CHARLOTTE, NC- The Piedmont Pride suffered a Game Two loss against the Carolina Vipers 18-8 on the road on Wednesday. With the loss both teams will play tomorrow, in a winner take all Game Three at York Comprehensive High School.
Carolina jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning behind three doubles that scored all six runs. The Vipers continued to extend their lead with a seven run inning in the fifth that put them up 14-1. First baseman Dominick Cammarata highlighted the inning with a two-run homerun. Pride starter Cory Conway only lasted two and two-thirds innings and gave up six runs.
“It’s hard when you put yourself in that deep of a hole that early,” Coach Joe Hudak said after the game. “Yesterday we were able to overcome it, but tonight they had a better pitcher on the mound, and when you get up a six spot in the first inning, it’s tough to beat anybody.”
Even though the Pride were down early the team didn’t raise the white flag. After the Vipers scored seven runs in the fifth, the Pride answered with seven runs of their own, over the next two innings. Joe Campagna and Jake Wright each walked in a run with the bases loaded in the sixth, and Hayden Smith and Cody Littlejohn each homered in the seventh.
Josh Gregory, Smith, and Littlejohn all hit their first homeruns of the season in today’s game, and even with the homerun ball working for the Pride, the team was unable to overcome the early deficit and fell 18-8.
With the loss, a Game Three will have to decide which team will face the SBA Bones in the championship round. The Bones swept the Lake Norman Copperheads on Wednesday and will have a day off to see which opponent they will face.
The Pride have home field advantage in this series, and Game Three will be at York Comprehensive High School starting at 7 pm. Right hander Zach English will be the starter, and he is tasked with keeping the Pride’s season alive on Thursday.
“We feel good about our chances at home, but it’s now a one game series and you either win or go home,” Coach Hudak said. “In a one game series whoever gets a break and takes care of the little things will win and move on.”
