Updated June 15 2017
Asheboro came up with one of its most productive offensive games of the season so far, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms wore their hitting shoes to McCrary Park and continued their mastery of the Copperheads by pounding out an 18-8 Coastal Plain League win Thursday night.
The two close rivals have now meet six times this young season and the Hi-Toms have won them all. They will play again in Asheboro next Tuesday night, June 20.
The Copperheads actually led early in the game, scoring three times in the first inning to offset a two-run first inning by the visitors. The Hi-Toms tied it with a single run in the third and then broke the game wide open by scoring eight times on eight hits in the fourth. They went on to build a 17-3 lead with three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings before the Copperheads had a big inning of their own in the last of the sixth, putting five runs on the board. But it was a case of way too little, way too late for the home team as they lost their 10th game of the season to go with only a pair of wins. The Hi-Toms are now 8-5, with only two wins coming against teams other than the Copperheads.
Asheboro tallied 13 hits on the night, three each from outfielders Clark Brinkman and Russell Schwertfeger, plus shortstop Jeremy Simpson. Second baseman Derek Perry also had two hits, inlcuding a two-run homer in the five-run sixth inning uprising. One of Schwertfeger’s hits was a two-run double in the first.
Hi-Toms centerfielder Randy Norris led off the game with a solo homer and went on to have a big night. He collected four hits and drove in three. But the biggest bat for HPT was DH Callahan Moltzan, who had a homer, two doubles and drove in six runs in his first game with the team. Rightfielder Jason Alberry also had a pair of hits and drove in five runs.
Asheboro used five pitchers on the night with starter Nick Rathke suffering the loss, his third of the season.
Erin Baldwin, the third of four HPT pitchers, was given credit for the win for pitching one scoreless inning.
The Copperheads will now go on the road to play four straight games before HPT comes calling again on Tuesday night. The stretch of road games starts with a trip to Holly Springs on Friday night and is followed by consecutive games at Gastonia, Forest City and Martinsville.
The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its 22nd season in 2018, the CPL features 16 teams playing in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL has had over 1,450 alumni drafted and 111 of those – including 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander – make their Major League debut; while another notable alum – Russell Wilson – won Super Bowl XLVIII. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com and follow us via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat @CPLBaseball..Contact:David Camp
Phone:(336) 460-7018