Jared Patterson rounds the bases Thursday night for Asheville Post 70.
SKYLAND – Trenton Davis looked down at the area he was raking around first base Thursday night.
“This is going to take a while,” the Roberson senior said.
No hurry. Members of the Asheville American Legion Post 70 baseball team are enjoying every moment around the ballpark, even the postgame cleanup.
The undefeated Cardinals (5-0, 5-0) scored a season-low eight runs, but eight was more than enough to fight off visiting Cherryville, 8-4, at Holmes-Smith Field.
Davis, an infielder/pitcher who has signed with Campbell, was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a home run. Devin Mangum went 3-5 with a double, while Garrett Blaylock, Jared Patterson and Nate Fore added two hits apiece.
Asheville never trailed and was ahead 6-0 before Cherryville (3-6, 2-2) finally got on the board in the top of the sixth inning.
Four different pitchers got some work for Asheville – starter Kyle Cagle scattered one earned run and three hits in six innings. He struck out five Cherryville batters and walked one. Relievers Josh Dotson, Blaylock and then Robert Rogers closed things out.
“We did a good job with our situational hitting tonight, especially early on,” Post 70 coach Shane Galloway said.
“That’s a great group we beat and we know it’s going to be a challenge when we go down there to Cherryville. (Cagle) was a little off tonight, but the end result was great. He battled just like one of the best pitchers in the state, which is what he is.”
Trenton Davis
Asheville remains the first-place team in the Area IV Western Division standings and came into Thursday with a two-game cushion over second-place Caldwell County. There are 11 games left before the end of the regular season on July 1. The next game for the Cardinals is June 16 at Haywood County.
Last year’s Asheville team only won seven games. The current one is averaging 15.2 runs per game during this perfect start.
“Our confidence is sky-high right now,” Davis said.
“It’s just a great feeling to be part of this team. I have so much faith in my teammates.”
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