🍀 Divisional Game | Oak City Gliders @ Reidsville Luckies 🍀
Luckies come back from two week break with big win
REIDSVILLE, NC — The Reidsville Luckies must have gotten some good rest over the fortnight break, as they came out swinging for the fences against the Oak City Gliders. The Luckies won, 11-4, over the Gliders, in their first game of the second half.
Apparently itching for a score after two weeks without one, the Luckies put up two runs in the first off of a two-RBI single from Myles Odom. Then, in the second inning, Jacob Trivette hit a solo shot home run, and Sam Melton and Gavin Fleming also scored. While the offense fired on all cylinders in inning one and two, Hunter Thomas on the mound did not allow a hit.
The fourth inning was where the fireworks happened. Oak City cracked the code offensively, as John Agnanostis, Sean Donahue, and Tyler Stillson would score. Nigel Robinson did what he consistently does in left field, which is make amazing plays that get runners out. This time the victim was Tyler Spruill. Still, the Gliders came out of the top-half confident, as they had narrowed the gap to a two-run deficit.
But the Luckies responded in explosive fashion. With two outs and Nigel Robinson on first base, Landon Parker hit an RBI double, Ryne Rodrigues hit an RBI triple, his first triple as a Lucky after 41 games and two seasons, Myles Odom hit an RBI double, and Brian O’Connell III hit an RBI double. So, when the Gliders had finally scored three runs, the Luckies responded with four, making the score 9-3.
Shannon Edwards, Jr. relieved Hunter Thomas, and didn’t allow any hits over three innings pitched. Jimmy Wormack then stepped on the bump, and kept the scoreboard clean, allowing Lucky City to head into the bottom of the eighth in full command with a six-run lead.
However, the Luckies still weren’t satisfied.. With Myles Odom on base, Brian O’Connell III hit his first home run of the season, a two-run bomb to put Reidsville up, 11-3!
Cole McLain then closed things out, allowing one run to give the Luckies an 11-4 victory. This was their fourth win in four games against the Gliders, which they have won by an average of over seven runs. The Luckies now take an automatic tiebreaker over Oak City in the event that they have the same record after the season.
Lucky of the Game: Brian O’Connell III leads the Luckies with three hits, tacking on three RBI with a double and his first home run of the year
Brian O’Connell III, who was one of the finalists for the All-Star Game but just missed it, used the time off to his advantage. Listen to my interview with him below to hear how he spent the break.
This is the first time BOC3 has ever received a Ledger award, and it is possible that he has a second-half breakthrough like Sam Melton and Jacob Trivette did last year. He already had a first-half that already got him in the All-Star Game, so if he can make a big improvement, his numbers would be astronomical.
Moment of the Game: Nigel Robinson makes it look easy in left field, heaving it into the glove of Sam Melton without need for a cutoff man
In the fourth inning, the Luckies needed to stop the bleeding. They did, as when Jadon Jones sent it bouncing into left field, Tyler Spruill tried to advance to third base. Robinson denied that attempt, floating it to third base as a Lucky tried to stop it. Melton did not need a cutoff man, as it went right into his mitt with ease, and he was able to make the tag! The Gliders never recovered, as a strikeout and 6-3 followed an no more runs were scored until inning nine. Without Robinson’s demoralizing play, the Gliders may have made that momentum snowball, but the Luckies turned the tides completely.
Robinson is now tied with TJ Highsmith, Travis Hammond, and Gavin Fleming for most-ever Moment of the Game awards at three. He is also at six Ledger awards, just one behind Highsmith’s all-time record seven Ledger awards.
Extra Bases
I talked with ONSL All-Star Ryne Rodrigues about his favorite part of the first-half, how 2024 has been in comparison to 2023, and what he enjoyed about the All-Star game in East Clayton Community Park.
On-Deck
After two weeks off, the Luckies are back in full swing. Tomorrow, they play in Clayton in a divisional game, before another six games in six days stretch. That stretch will start with back-to-back home games, with the Luckies hosting divisional rival High Point on Tuesday and the non-league Carolina Yankees on Wednesday.