Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Cherryville, NC (WNN) - After suffering two heartbreaking losses last week to Burns, Cherryville bounced back on Monday night against East Gaston in a 13-0 road victory. They split the two-game series with Stuart W. Cramer; the Ironmen won in Gastonia 4-3 on Thursday, then fell 3-1 at home on Friday. The race for the Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A Conference regular-season title is now between Burns, 13-1, and Stuart Cramer, 12-2. Cherryville at 11-3 can finish as high as second and no lower than third. Two conference and one non-conference matchups remain, at home against Bessemer City on April 28, at home April 29 hosting East Lincoln, then the regular season finale on May 1 at Bessemer City. The Ironmen are now focused on the NCHSAA State playoffs, which begin in early May. The pairings will be released on May 4, and first-round action is scheduled to begin on May 5. Second round May 8, third round May 12, 4th round May 15, Regionals May 21st-May 23rd, and State Championships May 27th-May 30th.
The regular season concludes on May 1, and with the pairings for NCHSAA brackets released on May 4 and playoffs beginning on May 5, several sources are telling me there will not be an end-of-season conference tournament this season. A conference tournament has followed the end of the regular season in previous years; however, it appears there will not be enough available dates to schedule one before the playoffs commence this year. If that changes, we will let you know. Cherryville is currently ranked first in North Carolina among 2A teams with a winning percentage of .850 and RPI (rating percentage index) of .665; these are used to determine playoff seedings. MaxPreps, at the time of this writing, has Cherryville 17-3, Rosewood (Goldsboro, NC) 17-4, and East Carteret (Beaufort, NC) 16-4 listed as the early favorites to contend for the state 2A title. Keep in mind that in baseball, one swing of the bat can instantly change the outcome of a game, so no one should be counted out.
The Ironmen took out their frustration on the East Gaston Warriors. They needed a good outing after a couple of rough games last week, and that is exactly what they got. Cherryville played like a team with something to prove. They scored 13 runs and had 10 hits in a 13-0 shutout of the Warriors. The Ironmen scored 8 of their runs in the third inning. They were led at the plate by Kenan Fowler, who went 2-2 and scored 3 runs, Aaron Heavner 2-3 with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs, Chandler Wootan 2-4 scoring 1 run and 1 RBI, Brock Bumgardner 2-3 and 4 RBIs, Canon Whitesides 1-1 and 3 runs scored, and Maddox Carrigan 1-3 with 2 RBIs. Brock Bumgardner picked up the win, going 2 innings, giving up 0 runs, 0 walks, and throwing 2 strikeouts. Carter Willis, Camden Williams, and Canon Whitesides also got some time on the bump as Coach Heavner was trying to rest his pitchers for the next two games later in the week. Jackson Messer absorbed the loss for East Gaston, going 2 innings, allowing 1 earned run and 1 strikeout. Abram Padia and Kai Lucas each had 1 hit.
Cherryville began scoring in the first inning. Kenan Fowler set the tone with a blazing triple to open the game. He scored when Talon Dalton hit a sacrifice fly ball to right field. Two more runs were added in the second inning. Aaron Heavner hit a line drive single to right field. Canon Whitesides bunted into a fielder's choice with Heavener forced out at second. Bryson Withers and Kenan Fowler walked, then an error by the shortstop allowed Talon Dalton to reach safely, and for Whitesides and Withers to score. The Ironmen completely took over the game in the third inning, running the score to 11-0. Davin Digh walked, Aaron Heavner attempted a sacrifice bunt, and was safe due to the catcher's overthrow of first base. Maddox Carrigan hit a line drive deep to right field that knocked in Digh and Heavner. Bryson Withers and Kenan Fowler again mirrored each other's at-bats as they both singled. Warriors' pitcher, Zane Dodd, balked, which scored Carrigan. Talon Dalton walked, followed by a hard-hit ground ball to center field by Brock Bumgardner for a single, scoring Withers and Fowler. Dalton crossed the plate when Chandler Wooten singled. After Davin Digh walked, Aaron Heavner hit a 2-run line drive to center field to score the courtesy runner, Karter Willis, along with Wooten. The fourth inning produced 2 more runs. Bryson Withers walked, and pitcher Kai Lucas hit Kenan Fowler with a pitch; they both scored courtesy of Brock Bumgardner's double to center field.
Sims Legion Park in Gastonia was the site of this must-win game for both teams. As expected, it was an evenly matched, highly competitive game between two of the top teams in the conference. Each squad needed a win to keep pace with conference leader, Burns. This game was a low-scoring affair, highlighted by several amazing defensive plays. The Ironmen had to battle back from behind late in the contest to pull out a 4-3 victory. Parker Anderson was scheduled to start on the mound; he was unable to go as he was nursing a slight hamstring injury. Camden Williams, normally a relief pitcher, got the start. He pitched well, although his arm began to tire as he was not used to starting this season. Williams pitched 3 innings, gave up 3 unearned runs, striking out 4, and issuing 4 walks. Karter Willis threw 3 innings of relief, allowing 1 hit, 0 runs, walking 2, and striking out 1 batter. Brock Bumgardner pitched the final frame, retiring the batters in order, 1,2, 3. Kenan Fowler went 2-3, scored 2 runs, Chandler Wooten went 2-4 with 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base, and Brock Bumgardner was 1-3 with 1 RBI. In all, Cherryville had 8 hits. Jack Scholz took the loss, pitching 6 2/3 innings, allowing 4 earned runs, 5 strikeouts, 8 hits, and 2 walks. Stuart Cramer had 5 hits, with Chris Wurster leading the way, going 2-4 and scoring 1 run.
Cherryville scored first. Kenan Fowler singled to left field, Talon Dalton hit a sacrifice bunt, and Brock Bumgardner hit a line drive double to center field to score Fowler. The normally sure-handed Ironmen allowed 3 unearned runs due to errors over the course of the third and fourth innings, giving Stuart Cramer a 3-1 lead. Chris Wurster doubled a line drive to right field, Kenan Helton walked, Ayden Bradley hit into a fielder's choice, an error placed Jack Scholz on base, and Wurster and Bradley scored. In the fourth, Caleb Smith singled, followed by Dylan Rodkin and Luke Brown, both bunting and safely reaching base due to throwing errors, and Smith scored. Karter Willis entered the game in relief of Williams and had an immediate impact. Bases were loaded, no outs, when Willis delivered a pitch that was hit hard between him and the first base line. Willis dove and made a spectacular catch. Chandler Wooten noticed the runner had left first base. As he assumed it would be a base hit, he yelled to him that there was a play at first, and Willis was able to turn the double play. He then proceeded to strike out the next batter, ending what could have been a disastrous inning for the Ironmen. The score stayed 3-1 in favor of the Storm until the Cherryville half of the final inning. The rally started with Canon Whitesides' double to left field. Maddox Carrigan followed that with a single to left field. Bryson Withers sacrificed to score courtesy runner, Colton Robinson. A pitch hit Kenan Fowler, then fearing Brock Bumgardner's power at the plate, he was intentionally walked to load the bases. Chandler Wooten hit a line drive to center field that scored Adams and Fowler. Jayden Adams might have saved the game with keen awareness. After he crossed the plate, he noticed that Fowler's momentum seemed to cause him to bounce over home plate. The umpire was watching closely as well. Adams quickly pointed to the plate, and Fowler tagged the plate just to be sure. Brock Bumgardner got all three Cramer batters out in the final half inning to preserve the 4-3 victory.
This was another game both teams needed to win to stay in the race for the conference title. Once again, a low-scoring affair dominated by excellent pitching. Pitching was strong from both clubs, but Cherryville left some men on base early, and they came back to haunt them. Dylan Rodkin pitched a gem of a game; he shut down the Ironmen bats each time they seemed to have something going. He allowed 4 hits, 1 unearned run, 1 base on balls, and struck out 11 over 6 1/3 innings. Luke Brown got the save with 2/3 innings of relief, allowing 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, and no strikeouts. Devin Phillips went 3-4 with 1 solo home run, 1 run scored, and 1 RBI. The Storm pulled off a 3-1 win and stayed one game behind the first-place Burns Bulldogs. Brock Bumgardner started on the mound for the Ironmen. Parker Anderson was once again out of the lineup with the hamstring issue. His status is still unclear and might be held out until the playoffs to make sure he is 100%. Bumgardner went 2 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned), 2 hits, striking out 1, and walking 4. Aaron Heavner pitched 4 1/3 innings of relief. He struck out 5, walked 0, allowed 1 run, and 6 hits. Talon Dalton, Chandler Wooten, Bryson Withers, Canon Whitesides, and Maddox Carrigan each had 1 hit.
Caleb Smith walked to begin the second inning. He. He advanced to second on a wild pitch. Dylan Rodkin walked, and Caleb Smith then advanced to third on a passed ball. Kingston Womack was called out due to batter interference. Chris Wurster hit a single to center field that scored Smith. Rodkin advanced to third on a passed ball. Kenan Helton sent a line drive to right field that scored Rodkin, and the Storm led 2-0. In the fifth inning, Devin Phillips got all of a pitch that he launched over left center field onto Hwy 150 for a solo home run and a 3-0 Stuart Cramer lead. Chandler Wooten provided Cherryville's only run in the sixth when he doubled to left field, stole third base, and then advanced home as the throw to third from the catcher was errant. The loss dropped the Ironmen to 17-3 overall and 11-3 in the conference, and they are currently in third place in the Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A Conference.
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