Connor Eason struck out 10 Monarch batters to help the defending 6A champion Hickory Hawks defeat Menchville 7-0. Eason, who is committed to the University of Virginia, silenced the bats of the Monarchs who had scored 33 runs in their two previous games. Eason allowed only three singles before leaving after the 6th inning. He also had an RBI single from the plate.
"He's so valuable as a senior leader," Hickory head baseball Coach Hank Kraft said about Eason. "He does all the little things really well. Some guys can throw the ball hard but they don't know the game and they struggle with the little things. He doesn't; he does all the little things really well."
The Hawks gave Eason more than enough runs to get the win. Back-to-back 3rd inning singles by Dylan Hudson and Ryan Berglund gave Hickory a 1-0 lead. Berglund drove in his second run when he grounded out to second scoring Matt Montague who lead off the top of the 5th with a double.
Hickory put the game away with three runs in the 6th inning and two more runs in the 7th inning. Cody Schneider, who was playing in his 1st game since a terrible car accident, delivered the big blow with a 2-run single. Eason helped his own cause with a single to put Hickory up 5-0.
Brothers Mikey Polansky and Stephen Polansky, both headed to Virginia Tech, opened the 7th inning with a single and walk and thy scored two runs on a ground out and wild pitch.
The Hawks improved to 14-3 on the season and they haven't lost a game in almost one month as they try to repeat their State championship.
"We are just trying to get better every game that we play," Kraft said. "That's kind of been our motto all season. We're not worried about the tournament. We try to take it game-by-game, inning-by-inning, pitch-by-pitch.
"He's so valuable as a senior leader," Hickory head baseball Coach Hank Kraft said about Eason. "He does all the little things really well. Some guys can throw the ball hard but they don't know the game and they struggle with the little things. He doesn't; he does all the little things really well."
The Hawks gave Eason more than enough runs to get the win. Back-to-back 3rd inning singles by Dylan Hudson and Ryan Berglund gave Hickory a 1-0 lead. Berglund drove in his second run when he grounded out to second scoring Matt Montague who lead off the top of the 5th with a double.
Hickory put the game away with three runs in the 6th inning and two more runs in the 7th inning. Cody Schneider, who was playing in his 1st game since a terrible car accident, delivered the big blow with a 2-run single. Eason helped his own cause with a single to put Hickory up 5-0.
Brothers Mikey Polansky and Stephen Polansky, both headed to Virginia Tech, opened the 7th inning with a single and walk and thy scored two runs on a ground out and wild pitch.
The Hawks improved to 14-3 on the season and they haven't lost a game in almost one month as they try to repeat their State championship.
"We are just trying to get better every game that we play," Kraft said. "That's kind of been our motto all season. We're not worried about the tournament. We try to take it game-by-game, inning-by-inning, pitch-by-pitch.
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