GASTONIA, N.C. — Normally, when your opponent begins the game with back-to-back home runs, it’s not a sign that a win is heading your direction. Similarly, giving up seven runs in the first two innings is a similarly bad omen. That didn’t matter for the Kingsmen on Friday.
The Kingsmen outslugged the top team at P27 Baseball Academy for an impressive 14-12 win at home to wrap up the first block of the spring season.
“[P27 Baseball Academy] is one of the best academies in the country,” Coach Joe Hudak remarked postgame. “When they got the four runs in the first inning, they thought it was over, that it was gonna be an easy day. It wasn’t. Our offense today was relentless, top to bottom. Relentless.”
The Blacksmiths of P27 started the game with a bang, literally, hitting the very first pitch of the game out of the ballpark.
P27 certainly showed off its firepower, hitting a total of six home runs against the Kingsmen. That included a combined five big flies hit by Sterling Coaxum and Henkel Acevedo, committed to Clemson and West Virginia, respectively.
However, the visitors weren’t the only team hitting the baseball.
Owen Beatrice hit his third home run of the spring to give the Kingsmen their first lead in the second. P27 responded in the third with a run to tie things at 8-8, but the Kingsmen fired back for more in the bottom half and never relinquished the lead.
All in all, the Kingsmen managed 15 hits against high-velocity arms that gave them a good challenge. The Kingsmen rose to that challenge.
Jack Curtis was a home run away from the cycle, joining Ryan Watters, Israel Clase, Mason Ritzema, and Ashton Bowes as Kingsmen who registered multi-hit games.
Harris Clark relieved Brandon Falk in the sixth nursing the lead, and grabbed his first save of the season, retiring four Blacksmith hitters to seal the deal.
While the win is impressive, it’s not surprising for Coach Hudak.
“We’re good enough to play at the Premier level, we showed that today,” Hudak stated. “We weren’t surprised that we came out on top.”
A good confidence boost as the team takes the weekend off before heading to East Cobb for the ABA Kickoff, which starts Tuesday.
