Baseball
West Brunswick 3 New Hanover 1
The West Brunswick baseball team earned a full game lead atop the division standings as the Trojans used a team effort at the plate to earn a 3-1 win over New Hanover at Buck Hardee Field in Wilmington on Friday.
Hunter Ashburn broke a open a tie ball game with an RBI single in the top of the ninth to bring in Tyler Stanley for the game-winning run. Stanley hit a leadoff double to start the frame and Tristan Lewis laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance his teammate to third. A base hit by Ashburn put the Trojans in front and Zach Johnson added a big insurance run with an extra base hit later in the inning.
Jonathan Carlyle threw 91 pitches in a complete game effort for West Brunswick. New Hanover’s Caleb Bishop fanned 11 in the defeat.
Ashburn put the game’s first run on the board with a solo home run in the seventh, but Alex Sniffen tied the game in the bottom of the inning to force extra frames. Adam Pecoraro added a double for the Wildcats, who dropped to 3-2 in league play and 10-4 overall.
West Brunswick remains unbeaten at 5-0 in conference, extending its win streak to 13 straight games as the Trojans improved to 14-1 overall.
Hoggard 7 Topsail 6
Down to their final three outs in extra innings, Hoggard rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth as Cameron Godfrey crossed the plate following a bases loaded walk to give the Vikings a 7-6 come-from-behind win against Topsail on Friday.
Brad Pennington went 4-for-5 in the lead off spot for Hoggard, with one RBI and one run scored. Rob Wilkerson added two hits and walked to force in the game-tying run.
The Pirates committed five errors and allowed an unearned run to score in the sixth when Hoggard tied the game at four. Pantelis Poulus hit a two-out single and Mike Gans came off the bench to smack a base hit, putting runners on the corners. Pinch-runner Hunter Gaylord eventually scored to make it level after the miscue at first base on a ball put in play by Patterson Carroll.
Four different Topsail players had multi-hit games. Josh Madole led the way with three hits and three RBI’s. Garret Myrka, Sam Hall and Colby Emmertz finished with two hits apiece.
Hoggard led 3-1 after three full innings when the Pirates crept back into the game. Gavin Finley hit an RBI double to close the deficit, while Madole and Hall drove in a pair of runs in the fifth to take a 4-3 advantage.
After a scoreless eighth, Madole hit a two-run double to give Topsail a 6-4 edge, but Hoggard took advantage of multiple miscues in the ninth, a pair of walks and a Pennington extra base hit for the key Mideastern Conference win.
The Vikings handed Topsail its first loss in league play as the Pirates fell to 3-1 in conference and 9-6 overall. Hoggard moved to 3-2 in the division and 11-3 on the year.
South Brunswick 6 Ashley 2
Zach Kelly struck out 10 over six strong innings and South Brunswick plated four runs in the third to grab a 6-2 victory over Ashley on Friday night.
The Cougars went down 1-0 early in the ball game and overcame three errors to grab the conference result. Caleb Clemmons drove in a pair of runs for South Brunswick. Tanner Coley had two hits, while Coley and Kelly each picked up a run batted in.
Ashley fell to 1-4 in conference and 6-10 on the year. South Brunswick moved to 2-3 in the division and 8-4 overall.
North Brunswick 10 Dixon 2
Arthur Hayes went 3-for-4 and Landen Wright had a strong outing for North Brunswick in a 10-2 win over Dixon.
Topsail 6 Hoggard 2
Topsail scored three runs before recording an out in the ballgame as the Pirates earned a regular season sweep over Hoggard following a 6-2 victory on Friday.
Maddy Laster and Hayley Grizzle drove in a pair of runs for Topsail, while Victoria Elder allowed two runs on six hits over seven strong innings in the circle.
The Pirates took one step closer to clinching a conference title, improving to 7-0 in league play and 14-1 overall. Keri White walked twice in the result and Grizzle added two hits.
Topsail grabbed an early 4-0 lead and went up by five before the Vikings got on the board. Brianna Anderson led the Hoggard offense with two hits. Aleah Thompson recorded a run batted in for the Vikings, who dropped to 3-4 in the division and 10-6 overall.
West Brunswick 14 New Hanover 4
Ashley 15 South Brunswick 5
Hoggard 16 Topsail 2 (boys)
Goals: Luke Frankeny (3)l Andy Kotz (3); Donovan Jones (2); Evan Fersinger (2); Gunner Philipp; Skyler Magsig; Jake Sharbaugh; Scout Philipp; Carson Whitaker; Connor Heath; Bryce Apel;
Assists: Gunner Philipp (4) Luke Frankeny (2) Donovan Jones; Cullum Crowley; Miles Lee; Mitch Trafton
Saves Morgan Pullen (3); Trenton Novelli (2)
Hoggard 14 Topsail 4 (girls)
Goals: Kendall Goldblum (4); Lindsey Yelton (2); Madison Kosh (2); Morgan Lennon; Alyssa Cooke; Eva Oliveria; Syndey Beckwith
