The Morganton junior legion baseball team, with a four-game losing streak, came to East Burke on Friday night looking to come away with a win or two.
The Panthers (10-12) had a low-scoring 3-1 win in the opener and then had an offensive explosion for a 15-6 victory.
“We took better at-bats in the second game and were more disciplined,” said Morganton assistant coach Josh Anthony.
Morganton got on the board in the second inning of game one off RBI singles from Jack Reid and Christian Fulenwider. Chandler Grindstaff also added a second-inning run off a bunt attempt from Chris Buckland.
After that, East Burke was able to limit Morganton to two hits to set-up a comeback rally in the fifth.
Luke Phelps started it off slapping a hard-hit double to the left field wall, and was eventually awarded coming home off a one out grounder from Hunter Jeffries for East Burke’s first run of the game.
Matt Whisnant and Jacob Lail, via singles, managed to get on base to continue the rally, but Morganton reliever Wyatt Fleming put it to an end striking out Tucker Cranford.
Jeffries pitched all five innings for East Burke, sitting down three Morganton batters in addition to allowing six hits. Morganton’s starting pitcher, Jonathan Morgan, threw no strikeouts but allowed five hits.
Whisnant was credited for the defensive play of the game making a behind-the-back catch at center field to end the top-half of the fifth inning.
Fleming went perfect on two at-bat appearances with two doubles. East Burke’s Whisnant reached base in all three appearances (double, walk, single).
Game two was a whole different story with Morganton scoring multiple runs in four of five innings leading to the nine-run advantage.
With an 8-3 lead, Morganton got its biggest scoring output in the fifth inning with seven runs (three unearned).
The three unearned runs brought Grindstaff (wild pitch), Fulenwider (error), and Bryce Moses (wild pitch) across home plate.
Reid and Morgan hit a pair of RBI singles in the inning, bringing home Fleming and Thomas Singley. Moses also leveled a two-RBI double to put the win in the bag.
The Cavaliers (2-13) did add three unearned runs, in the bottom-half of the inning courtesy of Spencer Stephens (balk), Jeffries (wild pitch) and Cranford (grounder).
Other East Burke runs were courtesy of an RBI double from Zach Lowder and Lowder crossing home plate via wild pitch in the second inning. Whisnant scored the third run off a third-inning grounder from Elijah Reese.
“Using the excuse that this is our first season at junior legion isn’t going to fly anymore,” said East Burke junior legion president Carla Jeffries. “(They) have the talent and the abilities to play at this junior legion level, but we have got to pull together as a team.”
Lail led the way for East Burke, at the plate, recording two singles on three at-bat appearances. Morganton got multiple hits from Moses, Fleming, Morgan, Buckland and Fulenwider.
Fulenwider, Morgan, Buckland, Fleming and Moses combined for eight of Morganton’s RBI’s.
Morganton’s starter, Hayden Caraway, pitched 2 1/2 innings throwing five strikeouts while EB starter Lowder only threw one strikeout in 2 1/3 innings of work.
East Burke is back at home Wednesday entertaining Hickory and Morganton travels to Boone on Monday to face the Watauga “A” team.
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