Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Cherryville, NC (WNN) - The Ironmen closed out the regular season with three games this week. Cherryville swept the Bessemer City Yellow Jackets but lost a close non-conference game to the East Lincoln Mustangs. The Ironmen finished the regular season at 19-4 overall and 13-3 in conference play to finish third in the Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A Conference behind Burns 15-1 and Stuart W. Cramer 14-2. Cherryville will be hosting a home playoff game that should be played on May 5th or 8th, depending on whether the NCHSAA schedules first-round byes. Playoff brackets will be determined and released on May 4. The Ironmen appear to be the number 1 seed in the 2A Division; therefore, they will host several games, provided they win.
Senior night for the Ironmen began as Talon Dalton, Aaron Heavner, Davin Digh, Bryson Withers, Camden Williams, and Colton Robinson were recognized as their high school careers are drawing to a close. Video clips of the seniors were shown on the scoreboard screen as they said their goodbyes to fans and teammates. Also, during pregame, the players chose to honor the late Glenn Jackson, a 9-year-old second-grader at Cherryville Elementary School who was a huge part of Ironmen baseball culture. He passed away at Levine's Children's Hospital in January after a courageous battle with a rare blood disease. Players also shared memories on the video scoreboard.
It was a special night for senior Camden Williams as he etched his name into the Cherryville High School record books by pitching a perfect game. His battery mate was Davin Digh. This was the first perfect game pitched since 1987, when pitcher Alan Davidson and catcher Allen Eaker combined for the feat. It was also Cherryville's second perfect game in school history. Williams is normally a mid-to-late-inning reliever; however, he started his second game of the season on senior night. The 6'6" 185lb southpaw struck out 13 of 15 batters faced over 5 innings. He allowed 0 runs, 0 hits, and 0 walks. Dax Morehead suffered the loss for the visiting Jackets. He gave up 9 runs (7 earned), 6 hits, struck out 1, and gave up 5 walks over 3 innings. Davin Digh led the way for Cherryville, going 1-2 with 3 RBIs. Parker Anderson, Aaron Heavner, Chandler Wooten, Brock Bumgardner, and Bryson Withers each had one hit.
The Ironmen took the lead in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. Talon Dalton walked, Brock Bumgardner singled, then stole second, Chandler Wooten sent a line drive to left field for a single to score Dalton. Parker Anderson returned to the lineup after missing some time due to a hamstring injury. He singled on a line drive to left field that scored Bumgardner, then Davin Digh hit a sacrifice fly to score Wooten, and Cherryville took a 3-0 lead. The Ironmen added another run in the second inning as Talon Dalton walked, stole second, advanced to third, then scored on a wild pitch. Cherryville did most of its damage in the third. Chandler Wooten reached on an error by the shortstop, then advanced to second on an error by the second baseman. Parker Anderson walked, and a wild pitch sent Wooten to third base. Davin Digh doubled to center field to score Wooten and Anderson. Aaron Heavner hit a line drive to center field for a single as courtesy runner Colton Robinson scored. Bryson Withers tripled to left field, scoring Heavner. Kenan Fowler, due to an error at shortstop, scored Withers. The final run was scored in the fifth inning. Bryson Withers walked and stole second. Pich runner stole third when he replaced Withers. Kenan Fowler hit a sacrifice fly ball to center field that scored Robinson and ended the game on the run rule.
The Ironmen honored the 2001 CHS State Championship team on their 25th anniversary and the 2016 CHS State Championship team on their 10th anniversary. The City of Cherryville workers were recognized as well. Cherryville's last regular-season home game was a non-conference matchup with the visiting East Lincoln Mustangs. This was a close game that the home team let slip away. Cherryville out-hit East Lincoln 7 to 5, but the Mustangs outscored the Ironmen 6-5. Davin Digh went 2-3 and scored one run; Kenan Fowler added an RBI. Brock Bumgardner absorbed the loss by going 4 2/3 innings, allowing 6 runs (4 earned), 4 hits, 6 strikeouts, and 5 walks. Josh Beam earned the win, allowing 6 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), striking out 1, and walking 3 over 6 2/3 innings. Era Vaughn III went 2-3 to lead the Mustangs at the plate.
East Lincoln took an early 1-0 lead when a pitch hit Tanner Matile, then scored on a line drive double by Brandon Washington. Talon Dalton singled to left field, stole second, then stole third. A throwing error by the catcher allowed Dalton to tie the game 1-1. Cherryville took a 5-1 lead in the second inning. Davin Digh hit a line drive single to left field. Aaron Heavner walked, Cannon Whitesides singled to shortstop, and Kenan Fowler singled to second. Fowler advanced to third on an error, and Digh, Heavner, and Whitesides each scored on the same error. Talon Dalton walked and stole second as Fowler scored. The Mustangs tied the game in the fourth inning. Ryker Wansil walked, courtesy runner Kaeden Hutchinson advanced to second on a wild pitch, Josh Beam walked, then Era Vaugh III hit a line drive double to center field to score Hutchinson. Reed Duckworth grounded into a fielder's choice to score courtesy runner Mason Clark. A throwing error allowed Vaughn to score. Tanner Matile walked, and Duckworth scored due to an error. The winning run was scored in the fifth inning. Ryker Wansil singled to shortstop, Harper Henson walked, Josh Beam singled to center field to score courtesy runner Hutchinson.
The Ironmen enjoyed their regular-season finale at the expense of the Yellow Jackets in Bessemer City. Cherryville amassed 14 hits on the night. Brock Bumgardner drove in 4 runs on 2 hits. Aaron Heavner went 3-3, and Kenan Fowler went 2-3. Karter Willis picked up the win for the Ironmen, allowing 0 runs, 0 hits, striking out 3, and issuing 1 walk in 3 innings pitched. Cannon Whitesides pitched 2 innings on relief, giving up 0 runs, 2 hits, 2 strikeouts, and 1 walk. Kendal Gardner shouldered the loss. He gave up 10 runs (3 earned), 6 hits, 3 strikeouts, and 5 walks. Ethan McKay and Cooper Hayes each had one hit for the Yellow Jackets.
Cherryville scored 13 runs to begin the third inning. Kenan Fowler singled and advanced to third on a throwing error. Talon Dalton bunted for a single, Brock Bumgardner sent a line drive to center field for a 2-run double, scoring Fowler and Dalton. A pitch hit Chandler Wooten, Davin Digh walked, and Aaron Heavner's single scored Bumgardner. Canon Whitesides grounded into a double play, resulting in Wooten being thrown out at home. An error at short stop allowed Jayden Adams to reach first base, courtesy runner Colton Robinson scored, and Adams stole second. Bryson Withers and Kenan Fowler both walked as Heavner scored. An error at third base put Talon Dalton on first, Adams scored, Brock Bumgardner walked, and Withers scored. Fowler scored when Chandler Wooten walked. Davin Digh drove in both Dalton and Bumgardner with a single. Aaron Heavner singled to left field to score Wooten. Canon Whitesides reached on an error by the shortstop as Robinson and Heavner scored. The Ironmen added 3 more runs in the fourth inning. Bryson Withers hit a line drive double to left field, Bryson Lamacchia then walked, Brock Bumgardner hit a single, and Withers scored. Karter Willis and Curtis Kester both singled to score Lamacchia. Bumgardner scored when Bryson Yarbro singled.
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