Greyhounds fall to Falcons in FH2A Title game

North Surry finished runner-up in the Foothills 2A Conference Tournament Championship after falling to Forbush 11-1 on April 2.

“Getting to the championship game was obviously an awesome accomplishment, but not winning it — especially with as hard as they worked to get there — was a disappointment for sure,” said North Surry coach Daryll Johnson. “But you’ve got to hand it to Forbush because they’re a strong, experienced and well-coached team.”

The No. 2 Greyhounds played the top-ranked Falcons close for two innings, then went down 4-0 in the bottom of the third. The Hounds got on the board for the first time in the top of the fourth before the Falcons scored five times in the inning’s bottom half.

Forbush ended the game early by adding a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth.

“We made some mistakes that we knew we couldn’t make, especially against a great team like that,” Johnson said. “They made some mistakes that we didn’t capitalize on, and we made some mistakes that they did capitalize on; that was the difference in the ball game.

“We didn’t respond the way we practiced and it cost us.”

North Surry (15-9) had a chance to score in the first inning after putting Myles Draughn and Corbin Dollyhigh on base, but both were left stranded. Draughn and Bradley Goins then reached scoring position in the third inning only to be left on as well.

Forbush went up 4-0 behind a three-run third inning, then North had a chance to fire back in the top of the fourth. Macean Alvear led off with a single before stealing second, then a single from Max Gough brought Alvear home. Bases were quickly loaded after David Schuyler was walked and Goins singled, but all three runners were left on base.

Forbush (23-2) didn’t waste its chances in the bottom of the fourth and added five more runs to go up 9-1.

“We had opportunities but just couldn’t get timely hits to swing momentum our way,” Johnson said.

Forbush’s Thomas Conrad earned the win on the mound by throwing all five innings. The senior tossed nine strikeouts, two bases on balls, and allowed one run on five hits.

Kinley Stanley got the start for North Surry and threw 3.2 innings. The freshman finished with four strikeouts, four bases on balls, one hit by pitch, and seven runs allowed on six hits. Draughn struck out two batters, walked one, and allowed four runs on three hits while on the mound, and Beau Carson allowed one hit.

Hounds advance to FH2A Title Game

North Surry reached the championship by posting back-to-back wins over North Wilkes and West Wilkes on April 29-30.

A strong fourth-inning at the plate helped the Hounds defeat North Wilkes 7-3.

North Surry was the first team on the scoreboard by putting up two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Goins was walked to start the inning, then a bunt from Corbin Dollyhigh moved Goins all the way to third base. Draughn singled to bring both Goins and Dollyhigh back to the plate.

North Wilkes took a brief 3-2 lead thanks to four hits in the top of the fourth, but North Surry retaliated with five runs in the inning’s bottom half. Stanley was walked with one out on the board, then moved to second on a wild pitch. Schuyler bunted to move Stanley, but ended up scoring his teammate before reaching second himself.

Goins was walked following Schuyler’s bunt. Both Schuyler and Goins advanced to scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Dollyhigh, then Schuyler scored on a wild pitch. Goins, who moved to third on the wild pitch that scored Schuyler, scored soon after when Draughn doubled.

The runs continued to pour in when Garrett Senter tripled and Alvear reach first on a North Wilkes fielding error.

Goins earned the win on the mound by throwing a complete game. The senior finished with eight strikeouts, three bases on balls, two hit by pitches, and three runs allowed on eight hits.

North Surry continued its hot scoring streak by defeating West Wilkes 10-1 on April 30. The win gave the Greyhounds the edge over the Blackhawks after the teams split meetings during the regular season.

Jonah Adams threw a complete game for the Hounds and finished with four strikeouts, one base on balls, and one run allowed on nine hits.

North Surry jumped on West Wilkes early with a trio of runs across the first two innings; Goins and Dollyhigh each scored in the first after teammates were walked with loaded bases, then Draughn tripled to score Dollyhigh in the second.

West Wilkes finally got on the board with one run in the top of the fourth inning. North held its 3-1 lead until the bottom of the fifth before adding six more runs.

Stanley and Carson were walked with one out in the fifth inning, then both scored when West Wilkes committed a fielding error on a hit from Gough. Bases were quickly reloaded when Schuyler and Goins were walked, then a single from Dollyhigh brough in Gough. Draughn and Senter each followed with a single to bring in a combined three runs.

North Surry capped off its 10-run performance when Schuyler tripled to score Gough in the bottom of the sixth inning.