Bears take down Trojans on Senior Night

Mount Airy closed the regular season with a 10-1 victory against Alleghany on April 26.

Friday’s win added another accolade to Mount Airy’s most successful season in more than half-a-century. Not only did the Granite Bears extend their overall winning streak to 19-straight, but the team put a cherry on top of the program’s first conference title since 1968.

Mount Airy finished 12-0 in the Northwest 1A Conference, and all but two of those victories were decided by at least five runs.

“It was just a really good way to end the regular season,” said Mount Airy coach Josh Wilson. “Winning 19-straight is a tall, tall task at any level, so I’m really proud of these guys for showing some grit and determination. This year they really locked in, and I think it just took them a little while to understand how special they can be.

“I’m just so proud of every one of them.”

The game against Alleghany was a showcase for Mount Airy’s eight seniors: Brison George, Rylan Venable, Cameryn Wilson, Ian Gallimore, Kamden Hawks, Landon Cox, Brayden Durham and Daniel Smith.

“This is a group of guys where a lot of them were starters for three or four years,” Coach Wilson said. “They took their bumps against some studs over the years when they were 14, 15 and 16 years old. They fought through all that and kept at it, now look at them.”

Hawks threw 11 strikeouts in six innings pitched to become the state’s leader in strikeouts this season. The senior needed 10 to tie the state-leading mark of 119, then used a sixth-inning K to take the No. 1 spot. Landon Cox entered during the final inning and struck out two batters to cap off the victory.

Hawks, George and Landon Gallimore each recorded two hits, with George leading the team with three RBIs. Four Granite Bears recorded one hit each: Cox, Venable, Ian Gallimore and Cameryn Wilson. Venable’s hit was a home run in the fifth inning.

Mount Airy will look to record its 20th-consecutive victory when it hosts the winner of North Stokes and South Stokes in the semifinals of the NW1A Conference Tournament. North and South will play April 30, then the winner will face Mount Airy on May 1.

Pitching

Alleghany

Connor Brown — 3 1/3 IP, 5K, 2 BB, 3 HBP, 3H, 7R

Noah Lyon — 2 2/3 IP, 3K, 2 BB, 4H, 3R

Mount Airy

Kamden Hawks — 6 IP, 11K, 1 BB, 3 HBP, 1H, 1R

Landon Cox — 1 IP, 2K, 1H

Scoring

Alleghany — 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0 — 1

Mount Airy — 3, 0, 2, 3, 1, 1, X — 10