Watauga goes 3-1 in tourney
By Steve Behr
 
When Pete Hardee agreed to host games in the Charlotte Heat Showcase over the weekend, he did it mostly to see what type of team was left him after 12 seniors graduated from the 2009 edition.

After going 3-1 against four different opponents, mostly from the Charlotte suburbs, he likes what he saw.

Mixing a handful of varsity holdovers with the jayvee team from the previous season, Hardee became optimistic about Watauga’s future.

“I was pleased with our pitching the whole weekend,” Hardee said. “I knew we had a lot of young pitching coming and I was excited about it. We’ve got some work to do on our defense and some of our hitting, but I was so pleased with our pitching staff.”

The Pioneers opened the event Saturday with an 8-7 win over OnDeck 15-under O’s, a team made up of rising freshmen and sophomores mostly from Ardrey Kell, Providence and South Mecklenburg High Schools.

Watauga suffered its only loss, 5-3, to OnDeck 16-under team.

Watauga followed with two victories Sunday, starting with a 7-5 win over the Charlotte Megastars. The Pioneers closed with a 5-2 win over Charlotte 2012 O’s Black.

Matt Proffitt got three hits, including a leadoff home run in the first inning, in Watauga’s 8-7 win over OnDeck in the first game Saturday. His home run sparked a four-run first inning that included an RBI single by Ian Stewart and a two-run single by Logan Story.

Aaron Watson and Clint Trivette both had RBI singles and Josh Roberts had a sacrifice fly, which was actually more of a line drive, to anchor a four-run fifth inning and give Watauga an 8-5 lead.

Dylan Norris allowed four runs in the first inning, but settled down and gave up just one run until he was pulled following the fifth inning. Norris fanned four batters, including one in the bottom of the fifth that was combined with catcher David Martin throwing out OnDeck’s Andrew Mauldin, who was trying to steal second.

Martin threw out three runners attempting to steal, two of them in the third inning.

Jake Watts and Proffitt finished the game on the mound for Watauga.

Proffitt doubled and scored on a Roberts single in the third inning of the second game. Story added a two-run single in the seventh inning as Watauga left eight runners on base.

Trivette belted a two-run home run in the sixth inning, and Baker Stanley added a double and scored on an error in the Pioneers’ win over the Megastars. Charlotte also walked in three runs in the fifth inning as Watauga took advantage of seven walks issued by Charlotte pitching.

Ryan Turner hit a solo home run in the fourth inning of the last game, and Story blasted a two-run shot in Watauga’s three-run fifth inning. Stewart followed with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning.

Jake Watts and Proffitt combined to get the win on the mound for Watauga.