HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: Aidan Monahan's monstrous mash highlights Patrick Henry's 12-2 win over Chilhowie (copy)
Patrick Henry's Kolby Hicks celebrates after striking out a Chilhowie batter on Friday.
Patrick Henry's Aidan Monahan went 3-for-4 in a 12-2 Hogoheegee District win over Chilhowie on Friday.
Patrick Henry's Kolby Hicks throws a pitch against Chilhowie on Friday evening.
Patrick Henry's Hunter White swings for a hit against Chilhowie.
Chilhowie's Brent Kilbourne catches a fly ball at Patrick Henry on Friday evening.
Chilhowie's Landon Bowman swings for a hit against Patrick Henry.
Chilhowie's Brent Kilbourne pitches against Patrick Henry on Friday evening.
Chilhowie's Asher Chapman swings for a hit at Patrick Henry on Friday evening.
Patrick Henry's Hank Rutherford dives back to first base as Chilhowie's Asher Chapman waits for the throw.
Patrick Henry's Trajan Cannon throws a pitch against Chilhowie on Friday evening.
Chilhowie's Tyler Gonzalez throws a pitch against Patrick Henry.
Patrick Henry's Carter Brown catches the ball at first base for an out.
EMORY, Va. – Aidan Monahan has smashed singles, drilled doubles, tallied triples and hammered home runs frequently over the course of his four seasons playing baseball for the Patrick Henry Rebels.
Yet, according to the varsity veteran it was a longball that he launched on Friday that outdid them all.
“Greatest frickin’ hit I’ve had in my entire life,” Monahan said.
Monahan’s monstrous mash in the fifth inning gave PH the lead and all the momentum as the Rebels recorded a 12-2 win over the Chilhowie Warriors in a marquee Hogoheegee District matchup.
The score was knotted at two runs apiece when Kolby Hicks drew a full count walk from Chilhowie freshman Tyler Gonzalez to begin the bottom of the fifth.
A confident Monahan strode to the plate looking to deliver on a promise.
“I knew I was going to hit one,” Monahan said. “I called it before I even stepped in the box. I told [teammate] Connor Brown, ‘Next time I’m up to bat, I’m hitting it a long way,’ and you know what, I’m a man of my word.”
Gonzalez fell behind 2-0 in the count when Monahan deposited his next pitch well over the fence in left field.
Hicks got a good view of it as he rounded second base.
“He hit that one a long way,” Hicks said.
Monahan also watched the flight of the ball as he slowly jogged to first base.
“You’ve got to admire something that beautiful,” Monahan said. “You can’t stand there and not look at it.”
This was a no-doubt clout.
“When it came off the bat you knew that one was gone,” said Patrick Henry coach Eric Rutherford. “That was a tank. I don’t know far that went.”
Monahan offered a generous measurement.
“I hit that sucker 450 [feet],” Monahan said.
One number that was indisputable is that Chilhowie’s 26-game winning streak against Hogoheegee District opponents came to an end.
“That’s a really good baseball team and a tough lineup to get out 21 times,” said Chilhowie coach Jeff Robinson.
Gonzalez had not allowed an extra base hit until Monahan’s homer ended his day on the mound.
The ninth-grader struck out four and walked three in his four innings.
“He kept us in the game and he didn’t have his best stuff today,” Robinson said. “That gives me hope.”
Chilhowie (8-2, 2-1) stranded 10 baserunners.
“We had some opportunities,” Robinson said. “We couldn’t cash it in when it was a close game.”
Patrick Henry didn’t have that problem.
The Rebels (8-2, 2-0) sent 12 men to the plate in the sixth inning and eight of them scored against Chilhowie relief pitcher Brent Kilbourne to end the game an inning early due to the 10-run rule.
Monahan finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead a 15-hit attack.
Connor Brown had three hits and drove in three runs, while Carter Brown’s three hits and Trajan Cannon’s two hits were also among the highlights.
“We responded against a good team and a good pitcher,” Rutherford said.
Meanwhile, Hicks continued his impressive work on the mound for Patrick Henry.
With the Rebels trailing 2-1 with two outs in the third inning, Hicks took over for Cannon and proceeded to keep the Warriors off the board the rest of the way.
“They told me before the game that there was a good chance I’d come in in relief,” Hicks said. “It definitely felt good to beat them.”
He struck out six, walked one and allowed four hits in his 3 2/3 innings and now has a 3-0 record.
“He’s got good stuff and he’s matured a lot this season,” Rutherford said.
Chilhowie received two hits apiece from Brody Miller, Brycen Sturgill and Dylan Martin. Martin had an RBI single and Noah Nash connected for an RBI double to account for the runs scored by the Warriors.
“There’s a lot of baseball to go,” Robinson said. “Us and Honaker and them are going to have some battles down the stretch.”
Patrick Henry hosts Honaker (9-2, 2-0) on Tuesday in another key contest.
“We’ve got to take it one a time,” Rutherford said.
The Rebels have one of Southwest Virginia’s hottest hitters in Monahan, who owns a .517 batting average.
“He’s been swinging it real well,” Rutherford said.
Not that Monahan is studying his statistics.
“Right now, I’m seeing it really good, but hitting’s real streaky, so I can’t say I am hitting it good,” Monahan said. “Because next time I’ll get up there and I’ll pop it straight up.”
Chilhowie 020 000—2 10 2
Patrick Henry 101 028—12 15 1
Gonzalez, Kilbourne (5) and Bowman. Cannon, Hicks (3) and Rutherford. W – Hicks (3-0). L – Gonzalez (2-1). HR – Monahan (PH), 5th, one on.
