Thursday, October 1, 2026
®
The World's Local News Source®
Cherryville, NC (WNN) - The Cherryville Ironmen swept the Cornerstone Charter Academy Cardinals in the best two of three series to win the Western Region 2A Championship and advance to the State Championship series to face the Rosewood Eagles from Goldsboro, NC. The series will take place May 27-30 at Burlington Athletic Stadium in Burlington, NC. Exact times and dates have not yet been determined. Cherryville enters the tournament as the #1 seed at 24-4, and Rosewood as the #2 seed at 23-5.
The Ironmen hosted the Cardinals of Cornerstone Charter Academy on May 19, 2026. Cherryville came out victorious in game 1 of the best 2 of 3 series for the West Regional finals. Cherryville rode the arm of Camden Williams, the bats of Canon Whitesides and Parker Anderson, along with the defense of Karter Willis, Davin Digh, and Canon Whitesides. The last echoes of “Doom and Gloom” had faded from the P.A. system as Camden Williams finished his warm-up pitches. The tall, lanky left-hander, known affectionately by his teammates and fans as “The Slim Reaper”, was already laser-focused as he prepared to deliver the first pitch to open the best-of-three series in the 2A West Regional finals. Williams has been living up to his moniker in the latter part of the season and playoffs. Officially, he allowed 2 runs, with runners on base when he left the game in the fifth inning. Until that point, he had allowed 0 runs, 6 hits, 1 walk, and 7 strikeouts. He had faced 21 batters when he left the game after 70 pitches. Coach Heavner took him out so he would be eligible to return to pitch, if needed, in the case of a game 3. Aaron Heavner pitched the final 2 innings, allowing 0 runs, 2hits, and struck out 1 as he faced 8 batters. Karter Willis replaced Heavener at second base and made several tremendous plays, including the game-ending double play.
(Please use the above arrows to scroll through the photo gallery)
The Ironmen had 7 hits, which is slightly below their average but still effective. Canon Whitesides drove in the first 2 runs of the game, going 2-3 with 1 run and 2 RBIs. He had a double and a home run. Cherryville was glad to have Parker Anderson back at full strength after recovering from a hamstring injury. Anderson also hit a home run and went 1-3, scored 1 run, and had 2 RBIs. Davin Digh was 2-2 with a run scored, and Chandler Wooten went 1-2 and scored 1 run. Jackson Shaffrey absorbed the loss for the Cardinals; he went 4 innings, allowing 4 earned runs and 7 strikeouts. He was also strong at the plate as he had 2 hits and scored 1 run. Other leading hitters for Cornerstone were Noah Moran, who went 2-3; Crawford Allen was 1-3 with 1 RBI; Parker Daniels went 1-4 and scored 1 run; and Finley Harker was 1-3 with 1 RBI.
The game began as a pitcher’s duel and remained that way for most of the night as both pitchers were having great nights. The Ironmen took the early lead 1-0 in the first inning. Davin Digh singled on a ground ball to the shortstop, Aaron Heavner hit a sacrifice fly, and Canon Whitesides drove in Digh with a double to left field. Whitesides rode the first pitch of the second inning out of the park over the left field wall to go up 2-0. Cherryville gained a little breathing room in the fifth inning. Chandler Wooten hit a line drive to left field for a double. Parker Anderson hit a line shot that snuck over the left field wall into the netting for a 2-run home run. Davin Digh doubled on a fly ball, then a balk was called on pitcher Jansen Bryan, allowing courtesy runner Colton Robinson to score. The score was now 5-0. In the sixth, Cornerstone added 2 runs as Parker Daniels reached by error, Jackson Shaffrey doubled on a line drive to left field, and Finley Harker grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Daniels. Crawford Allen singled to left field to score Shaffrey. In the seventh, the Cardinals had 2 runners on base and one out when a hard shot was hit to second base. Karter Willis stepped on the bag for the force out and then threw to first to complete the double play and end the game. The win improved Cherryville to 23-4, and Cornerstone dropped to 16-10.
Game 2 was played in Greensboro, NC, on May 20. The victory gave the Ironmen a berth in the 2026 NCHSAA Baseball State Championship, improving them to 24-4. Cherryville continued its love affair with the long ball as Brock Bumgardner added two home runs. Bumgardner started the game on the mound, and he took the adage of a pitcher helping his own cause to heart. He not only pitched well, but also hit 2 home runs, driving in 7 RBIs! His pitching performance covered 4 innings; he allowed 3 runs, 4 hits, 3 walks, and struck out 2. Parker Anderson made a brief appearance on the mound, and Karter Willis came in to close out the game. Cherryville had 10 hits and worked 7 walks. Talon Dalton made things happen on the base pads with aggressive running. He stretched two singles into extra bases with heads-up running. Right fielder Bryson Withers had an outstanding fourth inning, fielding all three outs. One of those was a sliding shoestring catch to rob Cornerstone of a hit. Kenan Fowler, Davin Digh, Brock Bumgardner, and Talon Dalton continued their hot hitting. Crawford Allen took the loss for the Cardinals, allowing 9 runs (6earned), 8 hits, 4 walks, and 1 strikeout over 4 innings. Jackson Shaffrey went 3-4, scoring 2 runs and 1 RBI. Brooks Adamczak went 2-3, scoring 1 run, and Finley Harker went 1-3 and knocked in 1 RBI.
Brock Bumgardner put Cherryville on the board first with a solo homerun for a 1-0 lead in the first inning. They added 5 more runs in the second. Davin Digh singled to left field, Aaron Heavner laid down a sacrifice bunt, Canon Whitesides walked, Bryson Withers also sacrificed, then Kenan Fowler singled on a line drive to center field, an error allowed Fowler to reach second and for Digh and Whitesides to score. Talon Dalton singled on a line drive to center field that scored Fowler on the throw. Brock Bumgardner knocked Dalton in on his second home run of the evening. Cornerstone was able to add a run in the bottom of the inning. Brooks Adamczak singled to center field, Noah Moran walked, and Adamczak went on to score due to a throwing error after he stole third base. The Ironmen added another run in the fourth for a 7-1 lead. Kenan Fowler reached on an error by the third baseman, Talon Dalton singled, and then advanced to second on the throw. Brock Bumgardner grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Fowler. In the fifth, it appeared Cherryville would close out the game early as they scored 2 more runs to lead 9-1. Davin Digh and Aaron Heavner both walked, and an error at shortstop allowed Canon Whitesides to reach. Kenan Fowler doubled to score Heavner and courtesy runner Bryson Yarbro.
The Cardinals began a rally in the bottom of the fifth. Noah Moran singled on a fly ball to center field; Brayden Barbee walked, as did Parker Daniels. Jackson Shaffrey then singled to right field to score Moran. Finley Harker walked to score for Barbee. Crawford Allen hit a sacrifice fly that scored Bryan. Harker stole second; Jack Hargett hit a sacrifice fly to center field as Shaffrey scored to close the lead to 9-5. The Ironmen added some insurance runs in the seventh inning as Canon Whitesides singled, a pitch hit Bryson Withers, and Withers advanced to second on a wild pitch. Talon Dalton walked, and Brock Bumgarner cleared the bases with a 3-run double scoring pinch runner Ethan Johnsone, along with Withers, and Dalton for a 12-5 lead. Cornerstone could only manage to score 1 run in their final at-bat. Jackson Shaffrey singled and went on to score later due to a throwing error. Jack Hargett’s lineout to center field ended the game and earned Cherryville the 2A Western Regional Championship. The Ironmen will now face the Rosewood Eagles for the state championship.
Dates and times to be determined.
For further WNN articles and news stories, visit https://wisenewsnetwork.com
For more WNN video news stories, visit YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wisenewsnetwork
Contact WNN at newsdesk@wisenewsnetwork.com
North Carolina Press Association Member
©️Copyright 2026 Wise News Network. All rights reserved.
