🍀 Season Finale -- Sandhills Bogeys @ Reidsville Luckies 🍀
Luckies season capped off in dramatic fashion
REIDSVILLE, NC — The Reidsville Luckies took down their rivals, the Sandhills Bogeys, with a 10-0 mercy rule after TJ Highsmith walked off the season with a two-run homer just right of the foul pole.
Former ONSL Pitcher of the Week and former Lucky of the Game Colin Eaton got the start on the bump. And he did not disappoint. En route to notching his fiftieth strikeout of the season, he struck out thirteen Bogeys and didn’t allow any runs. He pitched six innings.
The Luckies only had two hits in the first innings, but scored four runs due to walks, errors, and hits-by-pitch. They didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal, as Sam Melton and Justyn Steens would also score in the third inning. After three, it was a 6-0 lead.
The playoff-bound Bogeys continued to fail to get anything going against All-Star Eaton, while the Luckies cooled down a bit. After six, it was the same score.
Bryan Webb then relieved Eaton, and did very well, striking out three in the sixth. In the seventh inning, Jacob Trivette was knocked in by Steens, who eventually made it home. Justin Webb relieved his brother and put down the Bogeys, keeping the shutout attempt alive, despite two batters in scoring position and no outs, retiring the next three batters. 8-0 lead.
In the eighth, Kristian Amaro would single, bringing on TJ Highsmith.
And Highsmith pounded home run number seven over the left fence to score the victory for the Reidsville Luckies, walking off the season with a mercy rule shutout of the reigning champions!
Lucky of the Game: TJ Highsmith — In a game in which five players had hits in half of their at-bats, six had an RBI, and five scored twice, it was a difficult choice, but Highsmith had the biggest effect on winning. He went two for four with that devastating two-run homer, and would step on home plate twice.
Yesterday, I bragged on Highsmith for becoming the first-ever three-time Lucky of the Game, and then he did it again. Time number four for Highsmith.
Moment of the Game: TJ Highsmith kisses the season goodbye in fairytale finish — The Home Run Derby finalist improved drastically after the All-Star Game. His hit was his seventh goner of the season, but his third since the HR Derby that took place just a couple weeks ago. He detailed what fueled this second-half spark in the post-game interview below, along with speaking about that massive slam.
Highsmith joins his Southern Wesleyan teammate Travis Hammond as the only Luckies to ever win this award three times. It’s truly amazing what this man can do with his bat.
On-Deck — While there’s nothing On-Deck for the Reidsville Luckies, the Luckies Ledger won’t be shutting down anytime soon. I’ll be covering the postseason for the Old North State League thoroughly, with previews, game-by-game coverage, and a very special edition. In that post, dropping soon, “the Voice” Joe Dexter, “Santa” Eric Smith, and I will be competing in an ONSL Bracket Challenge. You readers can join in on the predictions, as I will be creating a poll on the Luckies Ledger to decide which team is the favorite to win the pennant. I hope all of you fans participate in the voting.
Also, keep up with the upcoming editions so that you don’t miss interviews with General Manager Justin Dill and Coach Chenzo Scanio.
I plan on providing content at least monthly, including season previews and a season-in-review edition to drop later on. We’ll also stick to some fun ones, such as ranking the logos and renaming the teams in the ONSL. I’ll keep Luckies fans updated on any notable news around the league and around the Luckies.
If you have any suggestions for offseason editions, drop it in the comments. If you want to keep up with my work, I’ll be covering high school football in Rockingham County for GreensboroSports.com. Next summer, I will be commentating once every week with the Greensboro Grasshoppers and recapping it for Greensboro Sports, but I’m undoubtedly hoping to return to the press box for Lucky City to commentate every game with Joe Dexter and Eric Smith in 2024.