HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: Chilhowie, Patrick Henry earn Hogo tourney semifinal wins (copy) (copy)
Patrick Henry's Trajan Cannon throws a pitch against Rural Retreat on Tuesday.
Patrick Henry's Kolby Hicks slides across home plate during their Tuesday afternoon win over Rural Retreat.
Patrick Henry's Carter Brown swings at the ball Tuesday afternoon against Rural Retreat.
Patrick Henry's Porter Blackwell swings for a hit against Rural Retreat.
Patrick Henry's Blake Johnson slides into third base safe around Rural Retreat's Hunter Wells.
Patrick Henry's Hunter White rounds third base on his way to score against Rural Retreat.
Patrick Henry's Kolby Hicks gets the out in the outfield against Rural Retreat at Emory and Henry on Tuesday.
Rural Retreat's Trevor Shelton swings for a hit against Patrick Henry.
Chilhowie teammates celebrate with Gavin Walker after his home run hit against Honaker.
Chilhowie's Brent Kilbourne throws a pitch against Honaker on Tuesday afternoon.
Honaker's Christian Ball throws a pitch against Chilhowie on Tuesday afternoon at Emory and Henry.
Honaker's Kole Reynolds swings for a hit against Chilhowie on Tuesday afternoon.
Honaker's Levi Johnson gets the out in left field against Chilhowie on Tuesday.
Chilhowie's Tyler Gonzalez swings for a hit against Honaker at Emory and Henry.
Chilhowie's Jayden Schwartz swings for a hit against Honaker at Emory and Henry.
A Chilhowie teammate watches the game from the dugout with goggles made from cups.
EMORY, Va. – With a balanced and battle-tested cast, Patrick Henry Rebels baseball coach Eric Rutherford expected to have a successful season.
Through 20 games, the Rebels have emerged as one of the most dominant squads in far Southwest Virginia
“The talent has been there and we’ve put it all together,” Rutherford said. “Our guys just have confidence they can win every time they take the field.”
The good times continued on Tuesday as the Rebels rolled to an 11-0 victory over the Rural Retreat Indians in Hogoheegee District baseball tournament semifinals.
PH (18-2) collected 10 hits in the five-inning contest.
Leadoff batter Connor Brown, Kolby Hicks, Carter Brown and Hunter White all delivered two hits.
“I love our lineup,” Rutherford said. “We’re hitting close to .400 as a team with prototypical hitters in about every spot.
“We have guys who can get on base at the front half followed by guys who can mash it and guys who can find ways to get on base.”
Emory & Henry recruit Aidan Monahan boomed a two-run home run in the first inning and has seven homers on the season.
Monahan and senior Carter Brown are both hitting around .500
Trajan Cannon is another key piece to the PH puzzle.
In his latest masterpiece, the unflappable 5-foot-9 senior left-hander allowed just two hits while walking none and striking out four.
“I don’t worry about my stats,” Cannon said. “I just enjoy playing with my teammates and we’ve had a lot of fun this season.”
The arsenal for Cannon includes a fastball, sinker, curve and change up.
According to Cannon, his strategy is simple.
“I pitch to contact and let my defense work,” Cannon said. “I was able to get pop ups and ground balls today.
Cannon has crafted a 4-0 record with one save and 1.63 earned run average
“Trajan is just an awesome kid,” Rutherford said. “He’s what you call an old soul and he really knows the sport.”
Second baseman Porter Blackwell converted several tough chances on defense, while White made a couple of nifty catches in right field.
Justin Walker and Jay Snavely collected hits for Rural Retreat, while Brody Childers displayed range and speed in center field. The Indians were hurt by four walks and three errors.
Cannon did not a allow a hit until Walker led off the fourth inning with a single up the middle.
“A no-hitter would have been fine, but I was just focused on throwing strikes and getting the win,” Cannon said.
Cannon plans to compete again this summer with the Marion Hungry Mothers collegiate summer league squad.
“I hope that I can thrive there and maybe pick up a scholarship to play in college,” Cannon said.
With just three seniors on the roster, the future is bright for PH fans.
“We like our team,” Rutherford said.
Chilhowie 14, Honaker 6
Chilhowie's Bryce Robinson throws a pitch against Honaker on Tuesday afternoon.
Chilhowie pitcher Bryce Robinson learned on Sunday that he would make his first varsity start in the Hogoheegee tournament.
Relying on a slider and curve, the 5-foot-9 right-hander allowed just six hits over the first five innings to record the decision.
Not bad for a freshman.
“I spent the past couple days preparing for this opportunity,” Robinson said. “It wasn’t nerve-wracking. I’ve got a great defense behind me and that gives me a lot of comfort.”
Defense has been a strength for Chilhowie all season, especially at the infield positions.
“I’m not a big strikeout guy, so I just try to get hitters to put the ball in play,” Robinson said. “I developed a slider at mid-season with the help of pitching coach (Ben Barnett) and that’s helped.”
Chilhowie head coach Jeff Robinson had reason to be proud late Tuesday afternoon. Bryce is his son.
“We’ve been using Bryce in a relief role mainly,” Coach Robinson said. “We wanted to give him a start and try to make it through, and he did well.”
The Warriors have both of their top two pitchers rested and ready for Wednesday’s championship against Patrick Henry.
Brandon Miller paced the 18-hit attack for the Warriors, driving in three runs on four hits.
Chilhowie is hitting close to .400 as a team.
“We hit the ball throughout the lineup and I’ve been waiting on that all year,” Coach Robinson said. “We have potential to get hot on offense.”
Jayden Schwartz and Dylan Martin delivered three hits, while Brycen Sturgill, Asher Chapman and Gavin Walker added two. The powerful Walker homered in the fifth inning.
The Warriors (16-6) sealed the victory with an eight-run outburst in the fourth. Chapman, Miller and Schwartz fueled the rally with triples.
“Getting that kind of run support is a dream for any pitcher,” Bryce Robinson. “Making my first start is big, and I hope to build off this experience.”
Kam Beavers drove in three runs on three hits for Honaker, while Connor Musick and Kole Reynolds supplied two hits apiece.
Musick was replaced on the mound in the fourth inning after allowing 10 hits.
“It was a hot day and it kind of drained Connor,” Honaker coach Derrick Murphy said. “It’s tough to lose to a good team three times in a season. We applied some pressure early, and then the game got away.”
The Tigers will face Rural Retreat in Wednesday’s third-place contest, with a regional playoff berth on the line.
“Every game from here on out is a must win for us,” Murphy said.
Coach Robinson thinks his team is capable of another long playoff rush.
“We’ve come a long way in the past two months,” Robinson said. “We always want to play our best baseball in May, and that’s where we’re doing.”
In the junior varsity title game on Tuesday morning, Chilhowie (17-1) rolled to a 20-7 decision over Patrick Henry.
Patrick Henry 11, Rural Retreat 0
Rural Retreat 000 00-0 2 3
Patrick Henry 232 4x-11 10 1
Williams, Haga (3), Gibson (4) and Walker. Cannon and Rutherford. W-Cannon. L-Williams. HR-Monahan (PH) 1st one on
Chilhowie 14, Honaker 6
Honaker 101 012 1-6 10 3
Chilhowie 110 813 x-14 18 1
C. Musick, Ball (4) and Beavers. Bryce Robinson, Kilbourne (6), Bowman (6) and Bowman, Martin. W-Robinson. L-C. Musick. HR-Walker (C) 5th none on
agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544
