🍀 First Responders Night -- High Point Hushpuppies @ Reidsville Luckies 🍀

Luckies fail to get anything going against division rivals

It was a tough outing for the Reidsville Luckies. After Rine Rodriguez sent Travis Hammond home early on for Reidsville, the Luckies would give up five runs in the third inning.

Eli Willen of the High Point Hushpuppies, who hit a Grand Slam earlier this season, smashed a three-run homer over the right wall. After six innings, the 2022 Western Division Champions were up, eight runs to two.

The eighth inning was when the wheels fell off. Two walks and a hit-by-pitch had the bases loaded for the Alpha Dogs very quickly, and they made sure to capitalize. High Point scored five runs in the eighth, and when the Luckies weren’t able to respond, a mercy rule was called. The final score was thirteen to two.

Lucky of the Game: Gavin Fleming — Fleming did a fantastic job, at the plate and in the field. He went two-for-three, with three steals and an RBI. The Gibsonville native made two spectacular plays in the first and second innings, before helping turn a nice double play in the fifth.

Moment of the Game: Gavin Fleming’s amazing glove work in the first inning — The lefty saved something from being potentially catastrophic by making the impressive grab and throwing the batter out at first. Also entertaining was when T.J. Highsmith did a full split to catch a bullet of a throw, but, unfortunately, his foot was off the bag, and the runner was deemed safe.

Fun Events — The Luckies honored First Responders tonight, and members of the Reidsville Fire Department would attend. Also, a dog was there, acting as the High Point Hushpuppy mascot. While that was clever, I guess, it would have been much better if they actually brought hushpuppies.

Notes — Kristian Amaro’s work at the plate was phenomenal. Amaro kept a substantial amount of wild pitches from turning into stolen bases. Hammond, the leadoff hitter for Reidsville, has been walked four of his last six at-bats, and Amaro is hitting .571 over the past two games. Coach Chenzo Scanio’s decision to put Amaro behind Hammond is definitely the right call, as Amaro often advances the runners, even when he gets out. Hopefully, Highsmith can make it count tomorrow, just as he did against the Bogeys.

Upcoming — Tomorrow, the Luckies will return to JC Park to host the Carolina Ducks in a non-league game. Therefore, it won’t count in the official Old North State League standings. On Friday and Saturday, they will take on the Oak City Gliders twice, once in Raleigh and once at home. Finally, on Sunday, they’ll try to get the better of the Sandhills Bogeys, the 2022 Old North State League Champions.